At the inaugural iicon event in Las Vegas today, Take-Two boss Strauss Zelnick gave a speech in which he gave some hope–but not much–for sequels to L.A. Noire and others.
Zelnick was asked if Take-Two was planning to do more with L.A. Noire. He said, “Yes,” before saying, “You never know,” according to Game File. More broadly, Zelnick said Take-Two is constantly thinking about where it could take all of its franchises.
“The answer broadly is we’re looking at doing something in the future with all of our intellectual property, but nothing to announce,” he said, adding that any announcement about a Rockstar franchise would come from Rockstar, not Take-Two.
L.A. Noire was developed by Team Bondi and released in 2011 for PS3, Xbox 360, and PC, with Rockstar publishing it. The game takes place in 1947 Los Angeles, with players taking on the role of the detective Cole Phelps, who is played by Mad Men’s Aaron Staton. The game came to Switch, PS4, and Xbox One in 2017. A VR edition called The Case Files that came out in 2019.
For his part, Staton said in 2021 that he had “never heard a word” about a sequel to L.A. Noire, despite the game selling millions of copies.
Back in 2012, Rockstar said a sequel to L.A. Noire was a “possibility.” At the time, the developer said, “We don’t always rush to make sequels, but that does not mean we won’t get to them eventually. We have so many games we want to make and the issue is always one of bandwidth and timing.”
If a sequel comes to market, it wouldn’t be from Team Bondi, as the studio shut down amid a flurry of controversy, after accusations of hostile working conditions prompted the International Game Developers Association to launch an investigation into the developer. Additionally, when the developer shut down, it reportedly was $1.4 million in debt. The studio’s assets, including its next project, Whore of the Orient, were acquired by film production company Kennedy Miller Mitchell.
Regarding other long-dormant game franchises owned by Rockstar, fans have called for a sequel to 2006’s Bully. Rockstar was reportedly planning a sequel, but it never materialized.
Also during the iicon event, Zelnick said Take-Two’s ambition is to “become the No. 1 entertainment company” on the planet, and, despite owning the massively successful GTA franchise and its esteemed developer, the company remains smaller than some of its contemporaries based on market cap and other factors.
“Everyone at the company knows that. And that’s what we’re planning for. And if we even get close to that mission, and we all hold together, then actually we’re probably going to make a bunch of money,” he said.
Take-Two is due to make a bunch of money soon, as GTA 6 is set for release on November 19, and it has an unprecedented amount of hype and massive sales expectations behind it.