An earnings call by Take-Two Interactive has revealed that 2K will be launching a brand new IP later this month. The “exciting new franchise” will launch sometime before June 2022, the end of their current fiscal year.
The call specifically states the IP is coming from 2K so it’s not a mobile game, Take-Two have Socialpoint as their mobile studio, and it’s probably not a smaller indie title, those games are now released by Private Division. So by the looks of it, a big, new, AAA game from 2K, and that, unfortunately, rules out the new Bioshock.
There are other new games on the way as well, a little later in the earnings call Lainie Goldstein, the Chief Financial Officer, talks about where Take-Two will be earning money in the period up to June 2022 and clearly indicates there are multiple unannounced console or PC games.
The largest contributor to net bookings are expected to be NBA 2K, Grand Theft Auto Online and Grand Theft Auto V, Red Dead Redemption 2 and Red Dead Online, as well as some of our new releases that are yet to be announced.
They also predict that the shift to digital distribution is continuing to move at great pace with 74% of all their console and PC games being sold via online storefronts rather than physical discs.
Also of note, when the floor was opened to questions from investors the first question was not about how much money Rockstar had made or predictions of sales for a new franchise, it was a question about how Take-Two are tackling gender inequality.
Another caller asked if Take-Two were interested in a subscription model of gaming, such as EA Play or PlayStation Now and it seems you will not be seeing anything from the Take-Two group on Xbox Game Pass on day one.
“Our views remain unchanged. We think that a subscription model can make sense for deep catalog titles. But it doesn’t really make sense for frontline titles,” commented Strauss Zelnick, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer.
“And for any business model it makes sense in the entertainment business, it has to work for the creators of the entertainment as well as the consumers of the entertainment. And I think catalog can make sense for the publishers, can make sense for consumers who are avid who really want access to a lot of product. But if you’re getting into frontline product, then the economics are much more difficult to make sense of.”
Source: Seeking Alpha
