After Take-Two revealed their impressive financials for the previous quarter, they held a conference call to discuss those numbers and talk about the future of the company.
One of the biggest points within their financials was how they have over ten titles in development for next-gen consoles, which CEO Strauss Zelnick talked about (via SeekingAlpha):
Looking ahead, we’re highly enthusiastic about the opportunities presented by next-generation consoles, which are launching in November. We have a robust development pipeline of new intellectual properties and offerings from our proven franchises, including multiple unannounced titles planned for release during fiscal 2015.
Strauss then talked about how they plan on being profitable on an ongoing basis:
As we said today, we have more than 10 titles in development for next-gen, and we’re confident enough about that pipeline that we’re calling for profitability on an ongoing basis, something that none of us around here does lightly, and something that all of us around here are really proud about. So Rockstar and 2K, both, are operating with within the reality that we have 2 platforms launching in November, about which we’re all really excited. And we have great titles coming up.
As well, Zelnick revealed how they don’t expect development costs to rise significantly for next-gen:
In terms of dev cost for the more than 10 next-gen titles we have in development, we do spend meaningfully on our games, it’s how we have the highest-rated games in the business. We don’t, so far, see meaningful differences in what it’s going to cost to develop for next-gen versus what it’s been costing to develop for current-gen.
He also added how “in order… to deliver the kind of results we hope to deliver and want to deliver, we do need and expect to have new tent-pole releases.”
President Karl Slatoff talked about a couple of those next-gen titles and who is developing them:
Looking ahead to fiscal 2015 and beyond, we have a strong development pipeline for both traditional and emerging platforms, including revolutionary new intellectual property and offerings from our existing franchises. For example, last January, we purchased the intellectual property for Evolve from THQ. This next-generation title is currently in development at Turtle Rock Studios, the renowned creators of the innovative, cooperative first-person shooter, Left 4 Dead.
In addition, 2K recently opened a new Bay Area studio, focused on developing an exciting next-generation title.
These represent just 2 of the more than 10 unique titles in our pipeline for next-generation consoles, which includes multiple releases planned for fiscal 2015. We understand and appreciate that both our consumers and shareholders are eager to learn more about our release schedule, and we expect to begin unveiling titles during the next several months.
When it comes to Grand Theft Auto Online and Grand Theft Auto on next-gen consoles, Karl said, “We haven’t discussed any plans for GTA, at all, in relating to next-generation. So nothing to say there.”
A couple other pieces of information from the call revealed how Borderlands 2, NBA 2K13, BioShock: Infinite, and Grand Theft Auto V each sold more units than any prior title from their respective franchises, within the same period after release. In addition, Borderlands 2 has sold-in over 7.5 million units and is on track to the be biggest selling game in 2K history.
Which Take-Two franchises do you hope to see on the PS4 and Xbox One? Let us know in the comments below.
