Strauss Zelnick confirmed that Take-Two Interactive bought FiveM to own modding. The $20M Cfx.re acquisition, the Cfx Marketplace, and alt:V's shutdown were all part of the groundwork for Grand Theft Auto 6's controlled mod ecosystem.
Take-Two Interactive CEO Strauss Zelnick just addressed the potentially multi-billion-dollar elephant in the modding room.
In a Business Insider profile published May 5, 2026, the Take-Two Interactive CEO described the FiveM acquisition in the most candid terms any executive at the company has ever used:
The way we looked at it is, wow, there are hundreds of thousands of people out there who like to engage with GTA in this way. How about if instead of trying to beat them, we join them?
For anyone tracking the escalating series of acquisitions, marketplace launches, and competitor shutdowns that have reshaped the Grand Theft Auto modding landscape over the past three years, this quote confirms everything.
It was never about killing mods. It was about owning them.
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Take-Two's Modding Strategy Timeline
| Date | Event | Take-Two's Action | What It Meant |
|---|---|---|---|
2015 | FiveM launches as unauthorized multiplayer mod | Cease and desist; called FiveM "piracy-enabling" | Hostile: mods are a threat |
2017 | Take-Two sends C&D to OpenIV (single-player mod tool) | Community backlash forces reversal within days | Forced tolerance: mods are politically dangerous to fight |
2019-2022 | FiveM grows to millions of users; Rockstar does nothing | Passive observation | Evaluation: mods are generating massive engagement |
2023 | Rockstar acquires Cfx.re (FiveM/RedM developers) for $20M | Acquisition | Absorption: mods are now a corporate asset |
January 2026 | Cfx Marketplace launches with premium mods up to $389.99 | Official paid mod storefront | Monetization: mods are now a revenue stream |
February 2026 | alt:V (FiveM competitor) shut down by Take-Two legal action | Cease and desist to competing platform | Consolidation: one platform, one marketplace, one set of rules |
March 2026 | 2,048-player FiveM server update | Technical scaling of owned platform | Infrastructure investment: platform is being scaled for larger audiences |
May 2026 | Zelnick tells BI: "Instead of trying to beat them, we join them" | Public confirmation of strategy | The CEO just said the quiet part out loud |
Zelnick did not say "we decided to tolerate them." He did not say "we found a way to control them." He said "we join them," which suggests that Take-Two is now a willing participant in the modding community. It also isn't entirely accourate since they technically now own FiveM.
Since the acquisition, Take-Two has turned a community-built platform into a corporate property, launching a marketplace that charges up to $389.99 for individual mod assets, and it shut down the only significant competitor (alt:V) within weeks of the marketplace going live.
This isn't necessarily a bad thing. The Cfx Marketplace offers modders something they never had. It's a legitimate, secure storefront with a guaranteed audience and legal protection. Creators who previously sold mods through gray-market Discord servers and third-party sites now have a platform where buyers can trust that what they are purchasing works, is updated, and will not get them banned. Server operators who spent thousands building custom GTA V roleplay experiences now have infrastructure that Rockstar maintains and scales.
The trade-off is control. Everything on the Cfx Marketplace operates under Take-Two's terms of service.
GTA V vs GTA 6 Modding Model
GTA V Modding Model (2013-2023) | GTA 6 Modding Model (Projected) |
|---|---|
Unauthorized, community-built tools | Official platform from day one (when PC launches) |
Rockstar tolerates single-player mods; fights online mods | Rockstar controls both through Cfx/Creator Platform |
FiveM operates in legal gray area for 8 years | No gray area; one official platform, competitors shut down |
Modders distribute for free or through Discord/Patreon | Cfx Marketplace with Take-Two revenue share |
Revenue flows to server operators, not Rockstar | Revenue flows through Rockstar's infrastructure |
Community innovates freely; 99 bad mods per 1 great one | Curated, approved content; quality controlled |
No official support; modders reverse-engineer the game | SDK or official tools likely provided to approved creators |
Rockstar has no visibility into mod ecosystem revenue | Full visibility; full data; full control |
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Grand Theft Auto 6 launches on consoles only on November 19. The PC version, where modding actually happens, is months away at minimum. By the time GTA 6 reaches PC, Rockstar's Creator Platform Team will have had months to prepare the official modding framework. This means the platform for GTA 6 modding will exist from day one, complete with a set of guidelines and rules. Anyone who wants to build content for GTA 6 will do so within a system that Rockstar owns, operates, and profits from.
Zelnick's quote reframes every modding decision Rockstar has made since 2023. The Cfx.re acquisition was not about Grand Theft Auto V. GTA V was the proving ground. The marketplace, the competitor shutdowns, the 2,048-player scaling, the Creator Platform hiring, was preparations for GTA 6.
Zelnick saw "hundreds of thousands of people" engaging with Rockstar Games' projects through mods and decided the smart move was to build the infrastructure that captures their creativity and their revenue simultaneously.
History says the community version is usually more creative. Zelnick is betting the corporate version is more sustainable. Grand Theft Auto fans are the happiest if they get a little bit of both.
FiveM, the Cfx Marketplace, and GTA 6 Modding: Your Questions Answered
What is Take Two's actual strategy with FiveM and modding?
What did Zelnick say about GTA modding?
Zelnick told Business Insider on May 5, 2026: 'The way we looked at it is, wow, there are hundreds of thousands of people out there who like to engage with GTA in this way. How about if instead of trying to beat them, we join them?' This is the first time a Take-Two executive has publicly explained the philosophy behind the FiveM acquisition.
Will GTA 6 have mods?
Almost certainly, but through an official framework. The Cfx Marketplace launched in January 2026, and Rockstar's Creator Platform Team is building the infrastructure for GTA 6's user-generated content system.
Will FiveM support GTA 6?
Rockstar owns Cfx.re, launched the Cfx Marketplace, and shut down the only competitor (alt:V). The infrastructure is being built for a controlled modding ecosystem from day one.