Take-Two: Play & the Quest for Lasting Value (Strauss Zelnick, Moritz Baier-Lentz, Hemal Thaker)

Game publishers used to suffer from “lumpy” annual revenues, attracting players to buy physical releases every five years or so—with a drought of income streams in-between. But they’ve come a long way: portfolio diversification; digital downloads and distribution; add-ons, DLCs, and live services with in-game monetization; platform expansions; and investments in new IP have all driven significant multiple expansions and value creation for players, developers, and shareholders. Few companies signify this transformation like Take-Two Interactive, which owns Rockstar Games, 2K, and Zynga. In this episode, co-hosts Moritz Baier-Lentz and Hemal Thaker sit down with Strauss Zelnick, Chairman and CEO of Take-Two. Strauss talks about how his commitment to serving others, be it in the office or at the gym, influences the way that sets goals and shapes company culture. They also speak about his storied career in the media and entertainment business; including turning around RCA Records after signing Dave Matthews. War stories like these turned out to be a mere prologue for what awaited Strauss after his takeover at Take-Two—a then distressed company in much need for a new North Star.