Assertion Partly supported AI assessment confidence: 95% certainty 4/5 debate potential 1/5

Take-Two Had $700M Revenue and $50M Cash in 2007

Strauss Zelnick · The Man Behind Grand Theft Auto 6: Strauss Zelnick · May 17, 2026 · at 47:43

Strauss Zelnick recounts evaluating Take-Two Interactive's financial health in 2007 before orchestrating a hostile takeover.

0:00 / 0:07exact quote · 7.1s

▶ Watch the full episode on YouTube → 720p mp4 · rendered on demand · StarZero watermark

“About 700 in revenue, and losing loads of money, and no debt, thankfully, and about 50 in cash.”

quote is from the automated transcript, cleaned for reading: filler sounds and stutters are removed, nothing is rephrased. names can be misheard (the analysis reads context, assessments check outside sources). how →

The claim, plainly

In 2007, Take-Two Interactive had approximately $700 million in revenue, about $50 million in cash, and zero debt while losing money.

a quote alone can be ambiguous, so this restates it with the references and context of the conversation around it resolved. AI-written; the tape below the player is the source.

Assessment

The claim bundles four financial assertions regarding Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. around the time Strauss Zelnick and ZelnickMedia took management control in March 2007. Two legs are accurate: the company was indeed losing significant money (reporting net losses of $184.9 million in FY 2006 and $138.4 million in FY 2007) and had negligible-to-zero debt (zero long-term debt and no credit facility in FY 2006, and $18.0 million drawn on a revolving line of credit with zero funded long-term debt in FY 2007). However, the stated revenue and cash figures were understated offhand recollections: actual net revenue was $1.038 billion in FY 2006 and $981.8 million in FY 2007 (exceeding the ~$700 million estimate by ~40%), while cash and cash equivalents were $132.5 million at FYE 2006 and $77.8 million at FYE 2007 (versus the ~$50 million estimate).

Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. Form 10-K for FY 2007 (filed December 20, 2007) reported net revenue of $981.8 million and a net loss of $138.4 million.
Form 10-K for FY 2007 reported cash and cash equivalents of $77.76 million as of October 31, 2007 ($132.48 million as of October 31, 2006).
Form 10-K for FY 2007 reported $0 in long-term debt and $18.0 million outstanding on its credit line as of October 31, 2007 ($0 debt in FY 2006).

Checked against

[1] gamesindustry.biz [2] gcs-web.com [3] sec.gov [4] sec.gov [5] sec.gov [6] sec.gov [7] gamesindustry.biz [8] sec.gov

"Strauss Zelnick" Take-Two "March 2007" cash debt revenue 2007 "TAKE-TWO INTERACTIVE SOFTWARE, INC." "CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS" "Net loss" "October 31, 2007" "October 31, 2006" "October 31, 2005" "TAKE-TWO INTERACTIVE SOFTWARE" "Form 10-K" "October 31, 2007" "CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS" "Net revenue" Take Two Interactive 2006 10-K revenue net loss cash debt "TAKE-TWO INTERACTIVE SOFTWARE, INC." "October 31, 2007" "October 31, 2006" "Long-term debt" OR "Line of credit" OR "debt" "TAKE-TWO INTERACTIVE SOFTWARE" "CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS" "April 30, 2007" OR "July 31, 2007" "Cash and cash equivalents" "TAKE-TWO INTERACTIVE SOFTWARE" "October 31, 2007" "Total liabilities" "Long-term debt" "Line of credit" "TAKE-TWO INTERACTIVE SOFTWARE, INC." "CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS" "October 31, 2007" "Long-term debt" OR "Line of credit" OR "Long-term liabilities"

assessed as of 2026-09-03

This assessment is an AI reading of a public statement, made against the cited references with the confidence shown. It can be wrong. The quote, the tape and the references are all on this page; if something is off, use report an error below. full disclaimer →

Mentioned

Take-Two Interactive

⚑ Spot an error? Report it

More from Strauss Zelnick

Assertion Partly supported

A Take-Two Competitor Once Faced 500 Sexual Harassment Claims

“So one of our competitors at one point had 500 sexual harassment claims at their company.”

Strauss Zelnick May 17, 2026 ▶ 1:04:17 The Man Behind Grand Theft Auto 6: Strauss Zelnick

Assertion Supported

ZMC Executed a Hostile Takeover of Take-Two Without Personal Capital

“The way we did this deal has never happened before, and I'm pretty certain it will never happen again, because we essentially did a hostile takeover with no money.”

Strauss Zelnick May 17, 2026 ▶ 0:28 The Man Behind Grand Theft Auto 6: Strauss Zelnick

Insight

Studio Systems are Economically Superior to Talent-Auction Boutique Systems

“A boutique system is generally bad and a studio system is generally good or can be good. The studio system was long gone. And studio system means your creative talent. All your talent is on the payroll. Boutique system is they're not on your payroll. They can …”

Strauss Zelnick May 17, 2026 ▶ 23:02 The Man Behind Grand Theft Auto 6: Strauss Zelnick

Opinion

Bobby Kotick Created the Most Value in Pure-Play Gaming

“I would argue that, I mean, for pure play, probably Bobby Kotak has with Activision.”

Strauss Zelnick May 17, 2026 ▶ 1:01:07 The Man Behind Grand Theft Auto 6: Strauss Zelnick

Opinion

Grand Theft Auto is the Most Valuable Entertainment IP Ever Created

“I think if you counted every, like, Mario Kart and Call of Duty and a bunch of others, it's not entirely clear, but I think in terms of the value of the IP, most people believe it's the most valuable entertainment IP ever created.”

Strauss Zelnick May 17, 2026 ▶ 1:10:04 The Man Behind Grand Theft Auto 6: Strauss Zelnick

Insight

Purely Data-Driven AI Cannot Generate Entertainment Hits

“Clones don't sell. All hits are by their very nature unexpected. That's the most important thing to take away. Things that are data driven in their entirety can't be unexpected.”

Strauss Zelnick May 17, 2026 ▶ 1:38:47 The Man Behind Grand Theft Auto 6: Strauss Zelnick

Take-Two Had $700M Revenue and $50M Cash in 2007

More from Strauss Zelnick

Turn any episode into a week of clips.