'Red Dead Redemption 2' Developers Focus on Quality Rather Than Profit, Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick Says

"Red Dead Redemption 2" is not going to make as much as money as "Grand Theft Auto V". At least that’s what Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick thinks, NDTV reported.

While this may appear to be a pessimistic view at first, it becomes more rational once details are brought into the picture. "GTA V" now sits at the top of the list as the most profitable entertainment product of all time.

Since its release in September 2013, the game has sold more than 90 million copies and brought in over $6 billion in revenue. That’s a generated profit that's bigger than those of “Black Panther” and “Avengers: Infinity War” combined. And data shows that "GTA V’s" number is still increasing, widening the gap between the game and those that wish to dethrone it.

So in this context, Zelnick’s statement makes a lot of sense. Of course, this isn’t to say that the Take-Two CEO doesn’t believe that "Red Dead Redemption 2" will not perform well upon its release.

"It's hard to expect anything to perform as well as the most profitable entertainment product of all time," Zelnick said. "I don't think that's a realistic expectation. Our hope, and also belief, is that 'Red Dead Redemption 2' will be an extraordinary creative product and that it will do incredibly well. Beyond that, I can't say -- I don't think anyone can say. We have to release it and see what consumers think."

Zelnick went on to say that their team isn’t focusing on how much profit they’re going to make but on how they can make the game as riveting as they possibly can. This mindset is a great sign that the game will be at least as gripping as the first one.

Gamers know all too well what happens when a studio prioritizes profit over the quality of a product. Electronic Arts (EA) is perhaps the poster boy for this sort of blunder as the company has time and again betrayed the trust of its fan base, particularly when it released a bug-filled “Mass Effect Andromeda” and riddled “Star Wars Battlefront 2” with microtransactions.

"Red Dead Redemption 2" is slated for release on Oct. 26. While it is playable through the PS4 and Xbox One, the second installment of the title is said to include a PC version as well.