Publisher Take-Two Interactive has shared concerns that review bombing could “harm” its future games, including the highly anticipated GTA 6.
Take-Two Interactive, the publisher behind Rockstar titles such as theGTAfranchise andRed Dead Redemption, has condemned the damaging review bombing trend that has infiltrated the video game, TV, and film industries in recent years.
On the TV and film side,Rings of Power,The Last of Us, and more have all found themselves in a similar position, painting a bigger picture of the widespread nature of this trend.
In a recent SEC filing, Take-Two discussed review bombing;Game Filefirst shared these comments.
While the reasoning for review-bombing is unique to each product, Take-Two Interactive spoke out about the “harm” this trend causes and how “obtaining and maintaining high ratings of our games on the third-party platforms on which we operate are important as they help drive players to find our games.”
Furthermore, the company added, “If the ratings of any of our games decline or if we receive significant negative reviews that result in a decrease in our ratings, our games could be more difficult for players to find or recommend.”
“In addition, we may be subject to negative review campaigns or defamation campaigns intended to harm our ratings,” the filing continued.
While GTA 6 is still a while away, the sequel over a decade in the making has already been in the spotlight for a number of debats. The introduction of the franchise’sfirst female protagonist has been a divisive decisionto say the least and has spawned a bunch of online discourse throughout the gaming community.
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As such, Take-Two’s review-bombing concerns could be connected to GTA 6’s launch; the company later added, “Any such decline may lead to loss of players and revenues, additional advertising and marketing costs, and reputation harm.”
Eleni Thomas is a Senior Writer on Dexerto’s Australia team, specializing in Gaming and wider gamer culture. She is a journalism graduate, expertly covering TV & Movies, GTA, Pokemon, Nintendo games, Twitch streamers, and YouTubers. She is also passionate about covering Queer and female representation. You can contact her at: eleni.thomas@dexerto.com
