Despite the threat of higher prices for gaming products due to the US trade war, Take-Two remains calm and does not believe it will affect the company
Recently, there has been a lot of media coverage about the potential impact of the tariff chaos in the United States on the gaming industry, from consoles and accessories to software. And while some experts have expressed serious concerns about the possible consequences for consumers and businesses, Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick seemed to remain relatively calm about the story during a recent investor Q&A session.
Here's What We Know
At the end of the call, Zelnick was asked if he was concerned about the potential rise in console prices and their impact on the overall gaming ecosystem. This question was in reference to the recent price hike for Xbox Series consoles and the expected rise in price of the PlayStation 5. However, Zelnick said that despite all the confusion over tariffs, Take-Two's financial outlook remains fairly stable, at least for the next year.
"Our outlook covers the next ten months, essentially the part of the fiscal year that hasn't passed yet, and it's very difficult to predict where tariffs will end up given how things have been moving so far. We are fairly confident that our forecast will not be significantly impacted unless tariffs go in a completely different direction than we currently expect. In any case, there's already a very significant installed base for all of our target platforms, except for the Nintendo Switch 2, which hasn't been released yet. So I think we have a good understanding that we will not be affected by any changes," Zelnick said.
Zelnick's confidence is well founded. As he himself notes, most of the games that Take-Two will release in the coming fiscal year will be on platforms that most people already own. The small number of people who will or will not buy the Xbox Series, PS5, or even Nintendo Switch 2 will not have a significant impact on the overall result. In addition, a significant portion of Take-Two's revenue comes from digital purchases in ever-popular games such as GTA V, Red Dead Redemption 2, and mobile business, which are not subject to tariffs at all.
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Source: IGN
