GTA 6 Won't Feature Real-World Brand Partnerships — 'All the Brands Are Made Up'

Fictional World, Fictional Brands

Take-Two Interactive CEO Strauss Zelnick has confirmed that Grand Theft Auto 6 won't feature real-world brand partnerships — and the reason is simple: in GTA's world, every brand is already made up.

Speaking at iicon, a new conference for video game executives, Zelnick explained that GTA's identity as a satire of American consumer culture makes real brand deals incompatible with the franchise. GTA games have long featured parody brands like Sprunk (a Sprite parody) and Up-n-Atom Burger (an In-N-Out parody), and inserting real-world brands would undermine that satirical foundation.

"We need to be true to the underlying intellectual property and we need to be true to our consumers," Zelnick said. "Consumers have an intuitive sixth sense for something that's real and something that's not real." He added that "everyone knows if you push too hard with partnerships it's a disaster," pointing to an unnamed TV show whose product placement for a beverage can was "too much."

Zelnick drew a contrast with 2K's NBA series, where real-world brands naturally exist within the sport — making their presence in-game feel authentic rather than intrusive.

GTA 6 Launches November 2026

GTA 6 is slated for release on November 19, 2026, targeting PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S. Given the game's anticipated status as one of the biggest entertainment launches in history, the absence of brand partnerships is unlikely to hurt Take-Two's bottom line. Zelnick also touched on GTA 6 pricing and teased the possibility of an LA Noire sequel at the same iicon conference.