After a strong financial year for mobile gaming in 2026, Take-Two Interactive’s mobile business is coming back to earth in the first quarter of 2027.
During Take-Two Interactive’s earnings call for Q1 2027 today, August 7, the company reported a seven-percent decline in its mobile business over the past year. During the same period, Take-Two reported increases in business for the Grand Theft Auto and NBA 2K series. Overall, recurrent consumer spending on Take-Two’s products declined by one percent during Q1 2027, which the company said was below its guidance of a three-percent decline.
“Our mobile direct-to-consumer channel remains a significant driver of revenue and margin enhancement, with many of Zynga’s titles offering this feature and further growth anticipated,” said Take-Two chief executive officer Strauss Zelnick during the earnings call.
In response to an investor’s question about Take-Two Interactive’s decline in mobile business, Zelnick said the company’s overall mobile business was strong, and that the decline did not reflect a broader cooling in consumer interest in mobile. Instead, he pointed to the relatively strong performance of 2026 releases like Color Block Jam, which drove Take-Two’s mobile revenue to increase to $391 million in the 2026 financial year.
“We’ve delivered some really good news in mobile,” Zelnick said. “There’s no doubt there’s a bit of pressure on user acquisition at the moment, and I think that that comes and goes in the marketplace. But, no, we don’t feel like the consumer is pulling back at all.”
After reporting stronger-than-expected mobile performance last year, Take-Two reported that Zynga performed “in-line with our expectations” in the company’s Q1 2027 earnings report, flagging “forever franchises” like Toon Blast, Match Factory, and Zynga Poker as some of the largest expected contributors to Take-Two’s net bookings in the coming financial year. Titles like Words with Friends and Top Eleven exceeded Take-Two’s forecasts for the quarter, and the company also trumpeted the performance of 2K’s mobile offerings, with NBA 2K All-Star reaching over 10 million users since launching in 2026.
Take-Two Interactive anticipates more of a decline in its mobile business in the coming year, citing both the difficulty of matching last year’s success with Color Block Jam and an assumption that “trends will moderate” for some of Zynga’s other “mature mobile titles.”
“Zinga will continue to focus on enhancing its existing mobile portfolio with bold beats and updates, as well as releasing new titles, including Top Goal,” said Take-Two Interactive president Karl Slatoff during the Q1 2027 earnings call.
As Take-Two Interactive grows closer to the slated release of Grand Theft Auto 6 this fall, all eyes are on the company’s console gaming business, with Rockstar Games announcing that the game will release strictly for current-generation consoles on November 19. Much of Take-Two’s earnings call focused on the upcoming release of Grand Theft Auto 6, including the company’s recently-announced plans to share an extended preview of the game on August 27.
“Global excitement for the launch of Grand Theft Auto Six continues to build, with the title having an exceptional start to pre-orders,” Zelnick said during the earnings call.