'We're Not Selling Hamburgers' — Take-Two Boss Says GTA 6 Marketing Has to Be 'Delicate' and Feel 'Real'

The boss of Take-Two has discussed Rockstar’s approach to marketing Grand Theft Auto 6, saying it needs to be “delicate.”

This week, as part of its latest financial results, Take-Two said marketing for what will surely be the biggest entertainment launch of all time kicks off this summer ahead of GTA 6’s confirmed November 19, 2026 release date.

It’s a statement of intent that Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick doubled down on in an interview with CNBC’s Jim Cramer. When asked how he knows GTA 6 will hit November, Zelnick said development progress is tracked every day, and pointed to the marketing milestone.

“We also announced that we have marketing beats coming this summer, and we don’t spend money on marketing until we’re pretty close to release,” he explained.

So, what can we expect from the marketing itself? Zelnick didn’t say exactly, but it sounds like it’ll be something unusual, at least from a video game marketing perspective. In the interview, Zelnick described the effort as a “challenge.”

“It is a challenge, because we want the product to be authentically owned by our consumers,” he said. “And so the marketing has to be delicate. It has to feel like, you know, this is real. We’re not selling hamburgers. We’re selling this unique art form.”

What this means is anyone’s guess at this point. Perhaps a social media-fueled ARG of some description? Real world GTA events of some kind that get fans involved? Given the enormous interest in all things GTA, nothing’s off the table here. All fans really want is GTA 6 Trailer 3, of course. That would do.

One thing Zelnick has been clear on is denying rumors that GTA 6 will be a digital-only release upon its initial launch. He told Variety there are no plans to do so, after reports suggested GTA 6 could delay its physical launch to 2027 to avoid leaks.

GTA 6 has of course already suffered from multiple leaks, both of development footage and of its first trailer, alongside a number of AI-generated fake leaks. Developer Rockstar North has also had to contend with a boiler room incident that sparked the need for numerous fire crews last month. Also last month, an employment tribunal rejected an application for interim relief filed on behalf of the fired GTA 6 developers at Rockstar Games.

Photo by CHRIS DELMAS/AFP via Getty Images.

Wesley is Director, News at IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at [email protected] or confidentially at [email protected].