Take-Two CEO Says Next-Gen Backward Compatibility Is a 'Benefit' but Not a 'Must-Have'

ign.com:

With recent rumors swirling around the potential for a successor to the Nintendo Switch, many fans and developers have been concerned about a possible lack of backward compatibility for such a console. And while the verdict hasn't quite been delivered on whether or not a "Switch 2" would have the feature, one major publisher doesn't seem too concerned about the prospect: Take-Two Interactive.

Speaking to IGN ahead of the company's Q1 earnings announcement, Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick stated that he felt backwards compatibility was "a benefit to consumers." However, he added that he'd "be surprised if platforms didn't offer that with an upgrade that is sort of mid-cycle, however I'm not certain it's a must-have."

Zelnick's response was a curious one - my initial question had mentioned upcoming rumored console upgrades (specifically rumors of a PS5 Pro), but had honed in on asking about a Nintendo Switch successor specifically. So I followed up by asking him if he considered the Nintendo Switch to be "mid-cycle."

Zelnick replied: "Remains to be seen."

Now, an imminent successor to the Switch is still fully in the "rumor" phase, even if those rumors are steadily growing more credible, so it's understandable that Zelnick isn't interested in saying anything that might accidentally reveal specifics of a new console before Nintendo has something to say about it. But I did ask him if Take-Two would be an early supporter of a new Nintendo system as they were with the Nintendo Switch, to which he replied, "almost certainly."

If dev kits are indeed in the wild, Take-Two would likely be one of the first companies to have them in hand, meaning that whatever is going on with the Switch, Take-Two is likely poised to have games of some kind