Graphics Will Become Indistinguishable From Reality, GTA Boss Says

Speaking to CNBC financial analyst Jim Cramer, Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick talked about why he’s excited about Microsoft’s Project Scarlett and Sony’s new PlayStation, both of which are expected to release during Holiday 2020. He said the increased horsepower of both next-generation consoles will give Take-Two’s developers at Rockstar Games and 2K Games, among others, the ability to make better-looking games that are creatively improved as well.

“We have a new console generation coming, and that’s going to allow us to do some things that we haven’t been able to do before creatively, and that’s exciting,” he said.

Zelnick went on to say he expects the graphics of video games to eventually become indistinguishable from real life–if a developer chooses to pursue ultra-realistic visuals. He didn’t specifically say that the new generation of consoles coming next year will allow for this level of realism, however.

“We’re going to reach a point where you won’t be able to tell the difference between what’s created in the computer and what’s real,” he said.

The executive said there is no top-down imperative from executives that all games from Take-Two have photorealistic visuals, pointing out that the Borderlands franchise that’s published by 2K Games is known for its stylized graphics–and that will continue going forward.

2K Sports’ NBA 2K series, however, is one of the company’s franchises that will benefit from the increased power of the new consoles to make the player models even more realistic-looking.

“But this promise of taking certain titles like basketball, and making it truly look live-action–it’s pretty close now, squint a little bit and it looks like live-action–that’s really exciting,” Zelnick said. “And that gives our creative folks a new canvas on which to paint.”

Microsoft has officially confirmed that Project Scarlett will release in Holiday 2020 with Halo Infinite as a launch title. Sony, meanwhile, has been more secretive. The company has begun to discuss the next PlayStation–confirming faster load times and other specs–but Sony has yet to officially announce the console and talk about when it will release.