Take-Two CEO Calls Out OpenAI and Anthropic for Hypocrisy Over AI and Copyright

GTA 6 is just over a week away from release, and the hype surrounding Rockstar’s next big release is reaching a fever pitch. However, a lot has changed in the gaming industry over the last few months, particularly when it comes to AI-powered reverse engineering, console jailbreaks, and game cloning, with Anthropic’s Claude at the forefront of recent developments. Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick is well aware of these developments and has a fairly measured, but pointed, response to the potential threat they pose to GTA 6.

What Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick Thinks About AI Cloning GTA 6

During an interview with IGN, Strauss Zelnick was asked about the rapid advancement of AI and its ability to clone games, reverse-engineer software, and potentially jailbreak console firmware. He was also asked whether these developments posed a financial threat to Take-Two, particularly with the possibility of GTA 6 becoming available on platforms like PC, where Rockstar hasn’t planned to release it at launch.

Zelnick dismissed the financial concern, but admitted that he does see it as a creative issue. He believes that Rockstar should be able to deliver the experience its developers have envisioned while protecting its intellectual property.

I do think it’s a creative matter. It’s important to everyone, our developers and our consumers alike, to deliver the experience Rockstar envisions

He added that the company is “not in the least cavalier” about these concerns, but believes that most people ultimately want the Rockstar experience as Rockstar intended.

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Take-Two CEO Calls Out OpenAI and Anthropic Over Intellectual Property

In the same interview, Zelnick was asked whether he welcomed Anthropic’s recent decision to block Claude from being used to reverse-engineer video games, and whether he’d like to see other AI companies like OpenAI follow suit.

His response was considerably more pointed. He argued that all companies should protect their own intellectual property as well as that of others, before calling out what he sees as an irony in the AI industry’s approach to copyright.

I think all companies should be protecting intellectual property, their own and everyone else’s. And if you’re in the intellectual property business, which Anthropic is and OpenAI is, then it seems ironic on the one hand to stomp on someone else’s IP and hope that yours is protected.

It’s a pretty direct jab at the AI industry and its two giants. Companies like OpenAI and Anthropic want their own intellectual property protected, but the same courtesy isn’t extended to the work that’s powering their models.

Zelnick Has Previously Discussed AI’s Role in GTA 6

This isn’t the first time Zelnick has shared his candid and largely critical view of the potential of AI use in development. While he doesn’t seem to mind it being used as a tool, he’s maintained that it can’t replace human creativity as it’s not “forward-looking”.

Harbor with several boats in Vice City — Image via Rockstar Games

Zelnick has been consistent about this distinction. In February 2026, he confirmed that generative AI had “zero part” in GTA 6’s development, emphasizing that Rockstar’s world is handcrafted rather than procedurally generated. Rockstar’s Rob Nelson has also made his position on the technology pretty clear. During a recent preview, he jokingly referred to traditional NPC behavior as the “good, old-fashioned sort” of AI, taking a subtle dig at the generative AI craze other publishers are welcoming with open arms.

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