Grand Theft Auto 6 is poised to become the biggest entertainment launch of all-time, potentially even the best-selling game ever. So you’d think there would be a huge opportunity for Rockstar Games and parent company Take-Two to make millions of dollars from in-game product placement. But it sounds like Take-Two is happy leaving that extra money on the table, simply because real-world brand partnerships wouldn’t fit in the parody-packed world of GTA.
As fans of the series know, GTA is a satire of American society and culture, and as such includes parodies of real world locations, companies, and products that often mock western consumerism. Some of these products are direct parodies of real-world brands. For example, Sprunk is basically Sprite. Up-n-Atom Burger is a fictional fast-food chain in GTA 5 that serves as a parody of the real-life West Coast chain, In-N-Out Burger.
Speaking this week at iicon, a new conference for video game executives, Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick ruled out the possibility of brand partnerships in GTA 6 because, put simply, “all the brands are made up.”
“We need to be true to the underlying intellectual property and we need to be true to our consumers,” Zelnick began. “And consumers have an intuitive sixth sense for something that’s real and something that’s not real. They can always figure it out.
“So in the case of GTA as a property, as you know, it’s a fictional world and everything in it is fictional. So we don’t have, for example, we’re not even at risk of doing brand partnerships because all the brands are made up. And I think that keeps us pure.”
Zelnick stressed that the situation with GTA isn’t the same as it is in 2K’s hugely successful NBA series, because brands “naturally exist” within the NBA in the real world. “And as long as we present them in a natural way, in a way that’s consistent, the way the world would experience them in a basketball game, it’s great,” he added.
It sounds like Zelnick is well aware of the fine line entertainment must tread when it comes to product placement, saying “everyone knows if you push too hard with partnerships it’s a disaster.” He pointed to a TV show that he refused to name that had product placement for a beverage can that was “too much.”
While GTA 6 may end up missing out on in-game advertising, it’ll surely make enough money for no-one at Rockstar or Take-Two to care too much. At the same interview at iicon, Zelnick addressed the much-debated question of how much GTA 6 will cost, and even offered a slither of hope for an LA Noire follow-up.
GTA 6 is due out on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X and S on November 19, 2026. Zelnick has previously indicated that marketing for the game will kick into gear in the summer, as fans desperately await GTA 6 Trailer 3.
Wesley is Director, News at IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at [email protected] or confidentially at [email protected].
