Grand Theft Auto maker calls US-China video game trade unequal

Take-Two CEO calls on the the US government to intervene

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Grand Theft Auto maker calls US-China video game trade unequal

Published: 6:45pm, 17 Sep 2018Updated: 8:39am, 20 Sep 2019

This article originally appeared on ABACUS

The boss of Grand Theft Auto is taking aim at what he thinks is unfair treatment by China.

The CEO of Take-Two Interactive, which owns the companies behind huge franchises like GTA, NBA 2K and Red Dead Redemption, called it a “completely odd and unequal situation.”

At a conference call with Goldman Sachs, Strauss Zelnick said, “At the risk of being a little bit political, our government actually does need to take a position with regard to our trade with China.”

This is Take-Two’s NBA 2K Online, a PC version of NBA 2K tailor-made for Chinese gamers. Here you’re seeing a three Kobe playing against three Chinese streetballers -- y’know, normal basketball stuff. (Picture: NBA 2K Online)

Zelnick pointed out that Chinese companies are free to buy American companies and publish their games in the country -- something US companies are unable to do freely in China. “We, in order to go to China, have to have half our business owned by a local company.”

He’s not wrong -- China says that foreign game makers must partner with a local company to access the market.

But it’s also not exclusive to games. It’s also a standard practice in the auto industry. You might see plenty of Volkswagen or General Motors vehicles on the streets of China -- but they’re badged as SAIC Volkswagen or SAIC-GM.