GTA Parent Company Hasn't Ruled Out A Warzone-Style Free-To-Play Game

GTA parent company Take-Two Interactive has said it wouldn’t rule out the possibility of a Call of Duty: Warzone style free-to-play game in the future.

Art for GTA Online — Credit: Rockstar Games

The news of Take-Two not ruling out future free-to-play titles should come as little surprise, especially when you consider the incredible monetisation success that has come with the likes of GTA Online.

However to play GTA Online you must own GTA 5 as an entry point, although GTA Online will be free for PS5 players during its first three months of release in the second half of 2021.

So with the release of GTA 5 on PS5 next year – and the fact that GTA Online will be free to PS5 players for the first three months regardless of whether they own the base game – it should be a handy ‘free-to-play’ experiment for Take-Two.

When speaking during a Q2 earnings call [via VGC] Take-Two CEO Straus Zelnick responded to a question from an analyst on the matter.

“In the spirit of Call of Duty Warzone and Call of Duty Modern Warfare, would it ever make sense to make a free-to-play component available for GTA or NBA 2K?” asked the analyst.

Zelnick responded by saying: “I wouldn’t rule out the possibility that at some point, certain experiences can become free as a matter of the entry point.”

However Zelnick also explained that he likes the practice of customers acknowledging the value to pay for a game like GTA V, which then comes with GTA Online which very much is a free-to-play business model.

“I like what I consider sort of tethered free-to-play, where 100% of people acknowledge the value of the title and pay to play it,” said Zelnick.

He then added: “and on an ongoing basis you have what is effectively a free-to-play experience attached that can go on for many years.”

Whether it’s Call of Duty: Warzone or Fortnite, the free-to-play business model on mobile devices is also very lucrative and Zelnick did not rule out the possibility of Take-Two franchises coming to mobile platforms.

Zelnick said that Take-Two “wouldn’t rule out the possibility of making a standalone mobile title”.

However Zelnick did state that any standalone mobile title would have to be “driven by the label’s creative desire to do so and the belief that we could do an extraordinary job at it”.

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Featured Image Credit: Rockstar Games