Take-Two CEO Says Cloud Gaming Could Fix Hardware Costs in 3 Years

Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick said the company expects game streaming to become commercially viable within three years, arguing that low-latency cloud delivery could offset rising hardware costs and expand gaming far beyond traditional consoles and high-end PCs. Speaking during Take-Two's latest investor call, Zelnick said streaming could materially increase the industry's installed base, especially in regions where players have access to screens and devices but not expensive gaming hardware.

Zelnick addressed the issue while discussing the effect of more expensive consumer hardware on the business. "Look, the rising cost of hardware is not a good thing," he said during the call. He added that cheaper hardware would help put more devices in players' hands, but said Take-Two does not currently see higher prices as a direct obstacle to its release slate.

His broader argument was that the market is already shifting toward more open systems. Zelnick said Take-Two has seen a major change in the role of PC over the past two decades. Where a simultaneous console and PC release once meant PC accounted for only 1% to 2% of sales, he said that figure can now reach 40% to 50%. He linked that growth to players using PCs with external controllers as gaming machines, and said he expects that trend to continue.

From there, Zelnick turned to cloud delivery. "With the advent of streaming, which we really do believe is around the corner in terms of having something that's low latency and really works well for consumers, machines that weren't game machines before will become game machines," he said. He then put a timeline on that forecast: "I think we'll be in commercial streaming mode within three years." He defined that as low-latency streaming that works at scale for consumers, and said it "can 10X the effective installed base."

Zelnick did not suggest that Take-Two's revenue would rise at the same rate. Instead, he framed the opportunity around access, particularly outside the company's strongest territories. Later in the call, he said publishers like Take-Two derive about 80% of revenue from the US, Western Europe, and a small number of Asian countries. He said he would like to reverse that balance over time, arguing that many players in underrepresented markets already own lower-powered devices that could become viable gaming endpoints if streaming improves.

The pitch depends on solving the same technical problem that has followed cloud gaming for years: latency. When asked directly about earlier failed promises in the category, including Take-Two's past support for Stadia, Zelnick acknowledged the criticism. "It is a very fair and accurate comment," he said. He then pointed to "enormous advances in hyperscaler networks and advances in edge network technology" as reasons he believes the situation is changing.

He also struck a cautious note. Zelnick said the three-year window is his estimate because the shift does not look immediate, but also does not feel five years away. "But of course, I could be wrong," he said. "We're not betting any of our company on this."

That leaves Take-Two's position somewhere between optimism and restraint. The company is not restructuring itself around cloud gaming, but its chief executive clearly sees low-latency streaming as a credible path around the cost of dedicated hardware. If that forecast holds, the biggest impact may not be on players who already buy consoles and gaming PCs, but on those who have so far been priced out of premium releases.