Take-Two Interactive recently revealed its earnings report for 2021’s first quarter, and eagle-eyed fans noted a handful of promising-sounding points secreted away in the presentation. Whether it’s2K Games releasing a new project later in the yearorTiny Tina’s Wonderlandsgetting a release window, fans seemingly have plenty to look forward to. One little detail squirreled away on a slide may have slipped under the radar, though.
It would appear that the company has six remakes or remasters in the pipeline, or rather “new iterations of previous titles.” Some of these are public knowledge already, namely versions ofGrand Theft Auto 5andKerbal Space Programfor next-gen consoles, and a standalone version ofGrand Theft Auto Online.
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But that still leaves three of these “newly-iterated” titles unaccounted for, andTake-Two Interactiveis very much keeping its cards close to its chest. With no information about which of its subsidiaries might be working on these games, it’s impossible to know for certain what’s in store, but fans have been quick to speculate which franchises might be getting the remake/remaster treatment.
At the top of the list for many is a potential remaster ofRed Dead Redemption 2, though others argue that a mere three years after its initial release is much too soon for that to be likely. Other contenders are the originalRed Dead Redemption, a 20th-anniversary revisiting of theMax Payneseries, or even therecently-rumored remakes of the earlier 3DGrand Theft Autogames.
One thing seems pretty clear, though. Whatever upcoming games Take-Two might have in store for its fans,they’re unlikely to come be coming to Xbox Game Passany time soon. CEO Strauss Zelnick revealed on the earnings call that he felt subscription services like Game Pass weren’t a good fit for what he termed the company’s “frontline titles” likeGrand Theft Auto 5andRed Dead Redemption 2.
Still, Zelnick stated that the company considered itself “open-minded” about the idea, and there are arguments to be made about howTake-Two ought to rethink its Xbox Game Pass skepticism. With six new remakes or remasters in the works, getting them on a subscription service could be the perfect opportunity to bring some newly-polished gems from days gone by to a new audience who might not have had the opportunity to play them the first time around. It’s surely food for thought, and fans will no doubt remain hopeful that the publisher might do a U-turn on its opposition to subscription.
