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Publisher Take-Two Interactive knows where its bread is buttered, jammed and peanut buttered. Can you say Rockstar? In case you’ve just awoke from a 10 year coma, Rockstar is responsible for the development of arguably one of video games most popular series ever in the history of the industry, Grand Theft Auto. Take-Two has other series that they are responsible for but none come close to the ringing in the profits of the GTA phenomenon, therefore they are interested in keeping key members of the Rockstar team around.
Take-Two’s latest annual report (January 2006) suggests that it has a dependence on key personnel from the Rockstar camp whom if not under contract could be a financial risk for the future of the company.
“In particular, we are highly dependent on the expertise, skills, and knowledge of certain of our Rockstar employees responsible for content creation and development of Grand Theft Auto and other titles,” the company’s filing read. It then noted that an agreement had been reached for the next three years. In another section of the report, $25 million in restricted common stock is allocated “to certain Rockstar employees responsible for product development” which involves $14.8 million now and $10.2 million over the next three years.
The quarterly report also makes mention in a separate section of $25 million in restricted common stock to be granted “to certain Rockstar employees responsible for product development,” $14.8 million now and an extra $10.2 million to be issued over the next three years. Unfortunately for those of us at CCC, a quick investigation revealed that none of our names were on the list of recipients.
While the appearance of Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories on the PSP was a surprise, don’t expect anymore shockers this year. The next gen version of GTA is expected in 2007 (presumably Fall 2007). Take-Two has stated that it “anticipates a strong next-generation lineup from Rockstar Games, including sequels to several of Rockstar’s most successful franchises.”
In this business you want to hold on to whatever works and there is no arguing that the talented development teams at Rockstar turn code into gold. However, nothing is set in stone and the tastes of gamers does change. 20 years ago space shoot ’em ups used to be the most popular genre…It remains to be seen if the GTA series can flourish in the coming years as it did on the current gen consoles.