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| Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick is optimistic about AI's impact on jobs. Take-Two Interactive Software |
Generative AI isn’t just changing how video games are made it could also change how much people in the industry get paid, according to Take-Two Interactive’s chairman and CEO, Strauss Zelnick.
The leader of the “Grand Theft Auto” and “Red Dead Redemption” publisher says he sees AI as a tool that will boost salaries by shifting teams away from repetitive, low-value tasks and toward creative, higher-level work.
“Generative AI will help in eliminating mundane work and allowing our teams to work on higher-level, more interesting work,” Zelnick told Local press after Take-Two posted fiscal first-quarter results that beat both company guidance and Wall Street expectations. “Higher-level work is usually more highly compensated work I don’t think I know anyone who will object to that.”
A Career at the Helm of Entertainment Giants
Zelnick, 68, has been with Take-Two since 2007 as chairman and stepped into the CEO role in 2011. Under his leadership, the company has grown its portfolio to include some of the most profitable and culturally influential franchises in gaming from the open-world phenomenon Grand Theft Auto to sports giant NBA 2K, historical strategy hit Civilization, and casual favorite Words With Friends.
His résumé also spans senior roles at entertainment powerhouses like BMG Entertainment, 20th Century Fox, and Columbia Pictures.
While he declined to reveal exactly how Take-Two is deploying generative AI internally, his optimism stands in contrast to the more cautious and in some cases, negative predictions from other tech leaders.
A Different View from Other CEOs
For example, Amazon CEO Andy Jassy warned in June 2025 that while AI can deliver efficiency, it could also reduce headcount over the next few years. In a memo to employees, Jassy said that “efficiency gains from using AI extensively across the company” would likely result in a smaller total corporate workforce.
Zelnick, however, believes the opposite will play out in the long term not just in gaming, but across industries.
“The History of Technology is That It Creates Jobs”
According to Zelnick, fears about AI displacing workers follow a familiar pattern seen throughout history.
“The history of technology is that technology increases employment. You literally can find no example of where new technology has decreased overall employment,” he said. “Anytime there are new innovations, there’s a cohort of people screaming and yelling about how the good old days are going to disappear and then what happens? The world gets better, safer, [and] more abundant.”
Market research supports his optimism. Global game-software revenue is expected to reach nearly $190 billion in 2025, according to analytics firm Newzoo, making the industry one of the largest entertainment sectors in the world.
The Broader AI Opportunity
Zelnick’s vision aligns with a growing movement in gaming that sees AI not as a job destroyer, but as a creative partner. By automating time-consuming tasks like asset tagging, basic environment generation, or routine quality assurance, developers could dedicate more time to designing innovative mechanics, crafting complex narratives, and refining player experiences.
In theory, these higher-value contributions could lead to more competitive salaries, greater job satisfaction, and even expanded hiring in specialized creative fields.
However, the pace and scale of this transformation will depend on how companies choose to implement AI and whether they reinvest efficiency gains into their workforce rather than cutting costs.
For now, Zelnick’s message is clear: in his view, AI’s real impact will be measured not just in faster development cycles, but in the potential to elevate careers across the gaming world.
