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Rockstar Games Parent Take Two Lays Off AI Team, Including Head of AI

Rockstar Games Parent Take-Two Lays Off AI Team, Including Head of AI

Take-Two has not specified the number of employees impacted by layoffs at its AI team.

Written by Manas Mitul | Updated: 6 April 2026 12:04 IST

Photo Credit: Rockstar Games

Grand Theft Auto 6 is set to launch on November 19, 2026

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Highlights

Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick has been vocal about AI in game development
Former Take-Two AI chief confirmed the layoffs on LinkedIn
Grand Theft Auto 6 will not include generative AI content

Rockstar Games parent Take-Two Interactive has reportedly laid off its artificial intelligence team, including its head of AI. The number of employees impacted by the cuts remains unspecified, but as per the former Take-Two AI chief, the AI team at the company has been let go. Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick has previously said that AI could not make a game like GTA 6.

Luke Dicken, Take-Two's former head of AI, confirmed the development on Friday and said that his team had been laid off. “It's truly disappointing that I have to share with you that my time with T2 - and that of my team - has come to an end,” Dicken said in a LinkedIn post (via Kotaku).

“I will take the time in a week or so to make a more reflective post on my time with Zynga and T2, but for right now I would appreciate your help in finding these awesome talented folks new positions - especially in the current climate,” he added.

AI Can Assist Game Development but Not Create Hits, Says Take Two CEO

Dicken, who joined Take-Two as AI chief in January 2025 after a decade at Zynga, said that his team had been working on machine learning, procedural content, DevOps, production and product management — all crucial parts of game development.

“We've been developing cutting edge technology to support game development now for 7 years. These folks know how to match innovation and novel problem solving approaches with strong product design chops to create systems that empower people throughout the development workflow,” he added.

Before Take-Two, Dicken served as senior director of applied AI at Zynga. He is also the founder of LuDic AI, a firm that provides consulting services on AI use for games-adjacent verticals.

GTA 6 Will Not Have Any Generative AI Content, Take-Two Boss Confirms

AI and Layoffs in Games Industry

The latest cuts at Take-Two come at time of widespread layoffs in the games industry. Just last month, EA laid off employees across its Battlefield teams despite the success of Battlefield 6. Epic Games, too, laid off over 1,000 workers, citing a downturn in Fortnite engagement.

AI in game development, too, has come under spotlight after the generative AI boom. While artificial intelligence and machine learning has been a crucial part of game development process for years, the use of generative AI to create concept art, assets, text, and other content has drawn criticism from players.

Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick has been vocal about the use of AI in game development, specifically at the company. In October 2025, Zelnick said that the impact of artificial intelligence on game development was “limited” as AI models lacked “creativity.” He added that AI won't be “very good” at making a game like Grand Theft Auto.

Earlier this year in February, the Take-Two boss confirmed that Grand Theft Auto 6 would not feature any generative AI content. Zelnick, however, said at the time that Take-Two utilised AI across its studios.

“This company's products have always been built with machine learning and artificial intelligence. We've actually always been a leader in the space, and right now we have hundreds of pilots and implementations across our company, including within our studios. And we're already seeing instances where generative AI tools are driving costs and time efficiencies,” he said.

More recently, in an interview with The Game Business, Zelnick said at AI could assist in game development, but that didn't mean it could “create hits.”

Grand Theft Auto VI

KEY SPECS
NEWS

Genre Action-Adventure

Platform PlayStation 5 (PS5), Xbox Series S/X

Modes Single-player, Multiplayer

Series Grand Theft Auto

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Further reading: Take Two, GTA 6, Rockstar Games, AI, Strauss Zelnick

Manas Mitul

Email Manas Mitul

In his time as a journalist, Manas Mitul has written on a wide spectrum of beats including politics, culture and sports. He enjoys reading, walking around in museums and rewatching films. Talk to Manas about football and tennis, but maybe don’t bring up his video game backlog. More