The CEO of Grand Theft Auto publisher Take-Two Interactive just threw cold water on AI's creative capabilities. Strauss Zelnick told tech executives that artificial intelligence remains "really, really bad" at the complex storytelling and world-building that defines blockbuster games, citing fundamental limitations that put the company at odds with the AI hype cycle sweeping Silicon Valley.
The gaming industry's creative skepticism toward AI just got its most high-profile voice. Take-Two Interactive CEO Strauss Zelnick delivered a pointed reality check on artificial intelligence's limitations during CNBC's Technology Executive Council Summit in New York, arguing that the technology fundamentally can't replicate the creative magic behind franchises like Grand Theft Auto.
"Could we push a button tomorrow and create an equivalent to the Grand Theft Auto marketing plan?" Zelnick asked the room of tech executives. "The answer is no. You wouldn't end up with anything very good. You end up with something pretty derivative."
The comments land at a critical moment for both industries. While OpenAI continues pushing AI creativity tools like Sora video generation, and Microsoft integrates AI across Xbox Game Studios, Take-Two represents a $20 billion counterargument that human creativity remains irreplaceable in entertainment.
Zelnick outlined two core problems blocking AI adoption in game development. First, intellectual property protection creates legal minefields. "If you create intellectual property with AI, it's not protectable," he explained to CNBC's Steve Kovach. The CEO emphasized protecting not just Take-Two's own franchises, but respecting others' rights as lawsuits mount between content creators and AI companies over training data.
The deeper issue, though, strikes at AI's fundamental architecture. Zelnick described current models as "backward looking" because they rely on existing data patterns rather than true innovation. "There is no creativity that can exist by definition in any AI model, because it is data-driven," he said.
This philosophy directly challenges the AI industry's creative ambitions. While tools like OpenAI's Sora generate impressive videos from prompts, and Google's AI assists with game testing, Zelnick argues these approaches miss what makes entertainment truly compelling.