Item 1. Business

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**General **

We are a leading developer, publisher and marketer of interactive entertainment for consumers around the globe. We develop and publish products through our two wholly-owned labels Rockstar Games and 2K. Our products are currently designed for console gaming systems such as the Sony Computer Entertainment, Inc. ("Sony") PlayStation®4 ("PS4") and PlayStation®3 ("PS3"), Microsoft Corporation ("Microsoft") Xbox One® ("Xbox One") and Xbox 360® ("Xbox 360"); and personal computers ("PC"), including smartphones and tablets. We deliver our products through physical retail, digital download, online platforms and cloud streaming services.

We were incorporated under the laws of the State of Delaware in 1993 and are headquartered in New York, New York with approximately 2,933 employees globally. Our telephone number is (646) 536-2842 and our website address is www.take2games.com. We make all of our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") available free of charge on our website under the caption "Corporate—SEC Filings." Included in these filings are our annual reports on Form 10-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, current reports on Form 8-K and amendments to those reports, which are available as soon as reasonably practicable after we electronically file or furnish such materials with the SEC pursuant to Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.

Our website and the information contained therein or connected thereto are not intended to be incorporated into this Annual Report on Form 10-K. You may also obtain copies of our reports without charge by writing to:

Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. 622 Broadway New York, NY 10012 Attn: Investor Relations

You may read and copy any document we file with the SEC at the SEC's public reference room at 100 F Street, NE, Room 1580, Washington, DC 20549. Please call the SEC at 1-800-SEC-0330 for information on the public reference room. The SEC maintains a website that contains annual, quarterly and current reports, proxy and information statements and other information that issuers (including the Company) file electronically with the SEC. The SEC's website is www.sec.gov.

**Strategy **

Overview. We endeavor to be the most creative, innovative and efficient company in our industry. Our core strategy is to capitalize on the popularity of video games by developing and publishing high-quality interactive entertainment experiences across a range of genres. We focus on building compelling entertainment franchises by publishing a select number of titles for which we can create sequels and incremental revenue opportunities through add-on content, microtransactions and online play. Most of our intellectual property is internally owned and developed, which we believe best positions us financially and competitively. We have established a portfolio of proprietary software content for the major hardware platforms in a wide range of genres, including action, adventure, family/casual, racing, role-playing, shooter, sports and strategy, which we distribute worldwide. We believe that our commitment to creativity and innovation is a distinguishing strength, enabling us to differentiate our products in the marketplace by combining advanced technology with compelling storylines and characters that provide unique gameplay experiences for consumers. We have created, acquired or licensed a group of highly recognizable brands to match the broad consumer demographics we serve, ranging from adults to children and game enthusiasts to casual gamers. Another cornerstone of our strategy is to support the success of our products in the marketplace through innovative marketing programs and global distribution on platforms and through channels that are relevant to our target audience.

Support Label Structure to Target Distinct Market Segments. Our business consists of our wholly-owned labels Rockstar Games and 2K. Rockstar Games is the developer and publisher of the interactive entertainment industry's most iconic and critically acclaimed brand, Grand Theft Auto, as well as other successful franchises, including L.A. Noire, Max Payne, Midnight Club, and Red Dead. We expect Rockstar Games to continue to be a leader in the action / adventure product category and create groundbreaking entertainment by leveraging our existing franchises, as well as developing new brands. 2K publishes high-quality, owned and licensed titles across a range of genres including shooter, action, role-playing, strategy, sports and family/casual. 2K is the publisher of a number of critically acclaimed, multi-million unit selling franchises including BioShock, Borderlands, Carnival Games, Evolve, Mafia, NBA 2K, Sid Meier's Civilization, WWE 2K and XCOM. In May 2016, 2K launched a new brand, Battleborn, which was created by Gearbox Software, the makers of Borderlands. We expect 2K to continue to be a leader by building on its existing brands, as well as by developing new franchises in the future.

Focus on Core Strength of Producing Select, High Quality Titles. We focus on publishing a select number of high-quality titles based on internally-owned and developed intellectual properties. We currently own the intellectual property rights to 20 proprietary brands. In addition, we will selectively develop titles based on licensed properties, including sports, and also publish externally developed titles.

We use a product investment review process to evaluate potential titles for investment, to review existing titles in development, and to assess titles after release to measure their performance in the market and the return on our investment. We apply this process to all of our products, whether internally or externally developed. The product investment review process includes reviews of each project at various stages of development by our executive management team and the senior management of our publishing labels, and includes coordination between our sales and marketing personnel before the launch of titles. This disciplined approach to product investment is expected to enhance the competitiveness and profitability of our titles.

We develop our products using a combination of our internal development teams and external development resources acting under contract with us. We typically select external developers based on their track record and expertise in developing products in the same category or genre. One developer will generally produce the same game for multiple platforms and will also produce sequels to the original game. We believe that selecting and using development resources in this manner allows us to leverage the particular expertise of our internal and external development resources, which we believe increases the quality of our products.

Leverage Emerging Technologies, Platforms and Distribution Channels, Including Digitally Delivered Content. Interactive entertainment played online and on mobile platforms, including tablets and smartphones, represents exciting opportunities to enhance our growth and profitability. In addition, the interactive entertainment software industry is delivering a growing amount of content for traditional platforms through digital download on the Internet. We provide a variety of digitally delivered products and offerings, which typically have a higher gross margin than physically delivered products. Virtually all of our titles that are available through retailers as packaged goods products are also available through direct digital download on the Internet (from websites we own and third-party websites). We also aim to drive ongoing engagement and incremental revenues from recurrent consumer spending on our titles after their initial purchase through downloadable offerings including add-on content, microtransactions and online play. In addition, we are publishing an expanding variety of titles for tablets and smartphones, which are delivered to consumers through digital download via the Internet. We will continue to invest in emerging opportunities in mobile and online gameplay, particularly for our wholly-owned franchises, as well as downloadable content and microtransactions that enable gamers to pay to download additional content to enhance their game playing experience.

Expand International Business. The global market for interactive entertainment continues to grow and we seek to increase our presence internationally, particularly in Asia, Eastern Europe and Latin America. We are continuing to execute on our growth initiatives in Asia, where our strategy is to broaden the distribution of our existing products and expand our online gaming presence, especially in China and South Korea. We are a direct publisher in Japan and South Korea. While we retain title to all intellectual property, under license agreements local publishers are responsible for localization of software content, distribution and marketing of the products in their respective local markets. We intend to continue to build upon our licensing relationships and also continue to expand on finished goods distribution strategies to grow our international business.

**Our Businesses **

Our revenue is primarily derived from the sale of internally developed software titles and software titles developed by third-parties. Operating margins are dependent in part upon our ability to continually release new, commercially successful software products and to manage effectively their development and marketing costs. We have internal development studios located in Canada, China, Czech Republic, the United Kingdom and the United States. As of March 31, 2016, we had a research and development staff of 2,179 employees with the technical capabilities to develop software titles for all major consoles, handheld hardware platforms and PCs in multiple languages and territories.

Agreements with third-party developers generally give us exclusive publishing and marketing rights and require us to make development payments, pay royalties based on product sales and to satisfy other conditions. Development payments for software titles are typically recoupable against royalties otherwise due to developers based on software sales. Our agreements with third-party developers generally provide us with the right to monitor development efforts and to cease making development payments if specified development milestones are not satisfied. We also regularly monitor the level of development payments in light of the expected sales for the related titles.

We continue to engage in evolving business models such as downloadable content, online gaming and microtransactions. We expect to continue to generate incremental revenue opportunities through add-on content, microtransactions and online play.

Rockstar Games. Software titles published by our Rockstar Games label are primarily internally developed. We expect Rockstar Games, our wholly-owned publisher of the Grand Theft Auto, Max Payne, Midnight Club, Red Dead and other popular franchises, to continue to be a leader in the action / adventure product category and to create groundbreaking entertainment by leveraging our existing titles as well as by developing new brands. We believe that Rockstar has established a uniquely original, popular cultural

phenomenon with its Grand Theft Auto series, which is the interactive entertainment industry's most iconic and critically acclaimed brand and has sold-in over 240 million units. The latest installment, Grand Theft Auto V, was released on Sony's PS3 and Microsoft's Xbox 360 in September 2013, on Sony's PS4 and Microsoft's Xbox One in November 2014, and on PC in April 2015. Grand Theft Auto V includes access to Grand Theft Auto Online, which initially launched in October 2013. Rockstar Games is also well known for developing brands in other genres, including the LA Noire, Bully and Manhunt franchises. Rockstar Games continues to expand on our established franchises by developing sequels, offering downloadable episodes, content and virtual currency, and releasing titles for smartphones and tablets.

2K. Our 2K label has published a variety of popular entertainment properties across all key platforms and across a range of genres including shooter, action, role-playing, strategy, sports and family/casual entertainment. We expect 2K to continue to develop new, successful franchises in the future. 2K's internally owned and developed franchises include the critically acclaimed, multi-million unit selling BioShock, Mafia, Sid Meier's Civilization and XCOM series. 2K also publishes highly successful externally developed franchises such as Borderlands and Evolve. In May 2016, 2K launched Battleborn, a new brand created by Gearbox Software, the makers of Borderlands. 2K's realistic sports simulation titles include our flagship NBA 2K series, which continues to be the top-ranked NBA basketball video game, and the WWE 2K professional wrestling series.

We are continuing to execute on our growth initiatives in Asia, where our strategy is to broaden the distribution of our existing products and establish an online gaming presence, especially in China and South Korea. 2K has secured a multi-year license from the NBA to develop an online version of our NBA simulation game in China, Taiwan, South Korea and Southeast Asia. In October 2012, NBA 2K Online, our free-to-play NBA simulation game, which was co-developed by 2K and Tencent, launched commercially on the Tencent Games portal in China. In addition, in December 2015, Civilization Online, our free-to-play massively multiplayer online game developed by South Korean-based studio XLGAMES, launched in South Korea.

**Intellectual Property **

Our business is highly dependent on the creation, acquisition, licensing and protection of intellectual property. The intellectual property rights we have created or acquired for our internally-owned portfolio of brands include: BioShock, Bully, Carnival Games, Evolve, Grand Theft Auto, L.A. Noire, Mafia, Manhunt, Max Payne, Midnight Club, Red Dead, Sid Meier's Civilization, Spec Ops and XCOM. We believe that content ownership facilitates our internal product development efforts and maximizes profit potential. We attempt to protect our software and production techniques under copyright, patent, trademark and trade secret laws as well as through contractual restrictions on disclosure, copying and distribution.

We also enter into content license agreements, such as those with sports leagues, players associations, music labels and musicians. These licenses are typically limited to use of the licensed rights in products for specific time periods. In addition, we license and include console manufacturer technology in our products on a non-exclusive basis, which allows our games to be played on their respective hardware systems.

**Manufacturing **

Sony and Microsoft either manufacture or control the selection of approved manufacturers of software products sold for use on their respective hardware platforms. We place a purchase order for the manufacture of our products with Sony or Microsoft's approved replicator and then send software code and a prototype of the product to the manufacturer, together with related artwork, user instructions, warranty information, brochures and packaging designs for approval, defect testing and manufacture. Games are generally shipped within two to three weeks of receipt of our purchase order and all materials.

Production of PC software is performed by third-party vendors in accordance with our specifications and includes DVD-ROM pressing, assembly of components, printing of packaging and user manuals and

shipping of finished goods. We send software code and a prototype of a title, together with related artwork, user instructions, warranty information, brochures and packaging designs to the manufacturers. Games are generally shipped within two weeks of receipt of our manufacturing order. Our software titles typically carry a 90-day limited warranty.

**Sales **

We sell software titles both physically and digitally in the United States, Europe, Canada, Latin America and Asia Pacific through direct relationships with large retail customers and third-party distributors. Our top customers include, among others, GameStop Corporation, Microsoft, Sony, Steam and Wal-Mart. We have sales operations in Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Japan, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Singapore, South Korea, Spain, Taiwan, the United Kingdom and the United States.

We are dependent on a limited number of customers that account for a significant portion of our sales. Sales to our five largest customers during the fiscal year ended March 31, 2016 accounted for 58.9% of our net revenue, with Sony and Microsoft each accounting for more than 10.0% of our net revenue during the fiscal year ended March 31, 2016.

We also distribute our titles, add-on content and microtransactions through direct digital download via the Internet to consoles and PCs, including smartphones and tablets. We view digital distribution as an important growth opportunity for our industry and Company; however, we expect that packaged goods and traditional retailers will continue to be a significant channel for the sale of our products for the foreseeable future.

**Marketing **

Our marketing and promotional efforts are intended to maximize consumer interest in our titles, promote brand name recognition of our franchises, assist retailers and properly position, package and merchandise our titles. From time to time, we also receive marketing support from hardware manufacturers in connection with their own promotional efforts.

We market titles by:

Implementing public relations campaigns, using print and online advertising, television, radio spots and outdoor advertising. We believe that we label and market our products in accordance with the applicable principles and guidelines of the Entertainment Software Rating Board, or the ESRB, an independent self-regulatory body that assigns ratings and enforces advertising guidelines for the interactive software industry.

Satisfying certain shelf life and sales requirements under our agreements with hardware manufacturers in order to qualify for Sony's Greatest Hits Programs and Microsoft's Platinum Hits Program. In connection with these programs, we receive manufacturing discounts from Sony and Microsoft.

Stimulating continued sales by reducing the wholesale prices of our products to retailers at various times during the life of a product. Price protection may occur at any time in a product's life cycle, but typically occurs three to nine months after a product's initial launch. In certain international markets, we also provide volume rebates to stimulate continued product sales. Price protection, sales returns and other allowances amounted to $64.5 million, $50.1 million and $138.1 million during the fiscal years ended March 31, 2016, 2015 and 2014, respectively.

Employing various other marketing methods designed to promote consumer awareness, including social media, in-store promotions and point-of-purchase displays, direct mail, co-operative advertising, attendance at trade shows as well as product sampling through demonstration software distributed via the Internet or the digital online services.

As of March 31, 2016, we had a sales and marketing staff of 355 people.

**Product Procurement **

We procure products from suppliers principally using standard purchase orders based on our assessment of market demand. We carry inventory quantities that we believe are necessary to provide rapid response to retailer orders. We utilize electronic data interchange with many of our customers to enhance the efficiency of placing and shipping orders and receiving payments.

**Competition **

In our business, we compete with:

Companies that range in size and cost structure from very small with limited resources to very large with greater financial, marketing and technical personnel and other resources than ours, including Activision Blizzard, Inc., Electronic Arts Inc. and Ubisoft Entertainment S.A.

Sony and Microsoft for the sale of interactive entertainment software. Each of these competitors is a large developer and marketer of software for their own platforms, and has the financial resources to withstand significant price competition and to implement extensive advertising campaigns.

Other software, hardware, entertainment and media for limited retail shelf space and promotional resources. The competition is intense among an increasing number of newly introduced entertainment software titles and hardware for adequate levels of shelf space and promotional support.

Other forms of entertainment such as motion pictures, television and audio, social networking, online computer programs, mobile games and other forms of entertainment, which may be less expensive or provide other advantages to consumers.

Competition in the entertainment software industry is based on innovation, features, playability, and product quality; brand name recognition; compatibility with popular platforms; access to distribution channels; price; marketing; and customer service. Our business is driven by hit titles, which require increasing budgets for development and marketing. Competition for our titles is influenced by the timing of competitive product releases and the similarity of such products to our titles and may result in loss of shelf space or a reduction in sell-through of our titles at retail stores.

Trends and Factors Affecting our Business

Product Release Schedule. Our financial results are affected by the timing of our product releases and the commercial success of those titles. Our Grand Theft Auto products in particular have historically accounted for a substantial portion of our revenue. Grand Theft Auto products contributed 54.5% of our net revenue for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2016. The timing of our Grand Theft Auto releases varies significantly, which in turn may affect our financial performance on a quarterly and annual basis.

Economic Environment and Retailer Performance. We continue to monitor economic conditions that may unfavorably affect our businesses, such as deteriorating consumer demand, pricing pressure on our products, credit quality of our receivables, and foreign currency exchange rates. Our business is dependent upon a limited number of customers who account for a significant portion of our revenue. Our five largest customers accounted for 58.9%, 64.6% and 39.4% of net revenue during the fiscal years ended March 31, 2016, 2015 and 2014, respectively. As of March 31, 2016 and 2015, five customers comprised 73.9% and 63.9% of our gross accounts receivable, respectively, with our significant customers (those that individually comprised more than 10% of our gross accounts receivable balance) accounting for 64.1% and 54.5% of such balance at March 31, 2016 and 2015, respectively. We had three customers who accounted for 35.2%, 16.8% and 12.1% of our gross accounts receivable as of March 31, 2016 and three customers who

accounted for 18.5%, 18.4% and 17.6% of our gross accounts receivable as of March 31, 2015. We did not have any additional customers that exceeded 10% of our gross accounts receivable as of March 31, 2016 and 2015. The economic environment has affected our customers in the past, and may do so in the future. Bankruptcies or consolidations of our large retail customers could seriously hurt our business, due to uncollectible accounts receivables and the concentration of purchasing power among the remaining large retailers. Certain of our large customers sell used copies of our games, which may negatively affect our business by reducing demand for new copies of our games. While the downloadable content that we now offer for certain of our titles may serve to reduce used game sales, we expect used game sales to continue to adversely affect our business.

Hardware Platforms. We derive most of our revenue from the sale of products made for video game platforms manufactured by third-parties, such as Sony's PS4 and PS3 and Microsoft's Xbox One and Xbox 360, which comprised 82.6% of our net revenue by product platform for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2016. The success of our business is dependent upon the consumer acceptance of these platforms and the continued growth in the installed base of these platforms. When new hardware platforms are introduced, demand for software based on older platforms typically declines, which may negatively affect our business during the market transition to the new consoles. Accordingly, our strategy is to focus our development efforts on a select number of the highest quality titles for these platforms, while also expanding our offerings for emerging platforms such as tablets, smartphones and online games.

Online Content and Digital Distribution. The interactive entertainment software industry is delivering a growing amount of content through digital online delivery methods. We provide a variety of online delivered products and offerings. Virtually all of our titles that are available through retailers as packaged goods products are also available through direct digital download via the Internet (from websites we own and others owned by third-parties). In addition, we aim to drive ongoing engagement and recurrent consumer spending on our titles after their initial purchase by generating incremental revenues through downloadable offerings, including add-on content, microtransactions and online play. We also publish an expanding variety of titles for tablets and smartphones, which are delivered to consumers through digital download via the Internet. Note 17 to the Consolidated Financial Statements, "Segment and Geographic Information," discloses that net revenue from digital online channels comprised 49.3% of our net revenue by distribution channel for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2016. We expect online delivery of games and game offerings to become an increasing part of our business over the long-term.

**International Operations **

International sales are a significant part of our business. For the fiscal years ended March 31, 2016, 2015 and 2014, 47.4%, 42.5% and 53.5%, respectively, of our net revenue was earned outside the United States. We are continuing to execute on our growth initiatives in Asia, where our strategy is to broaden the distribution of our existing products and expand our online gaming presence, especially in China and South Korea. We are subject to risks inherent in foreign trade, including increased credit risks, tariffs and duties, fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates, shipping delays and international political, regulatory and economic developments, all of which can have a significant effect on our operating results. See Notes 1 and 17 to the Consolidated Financial Statements.

**Segment and Geographic Information **

See Note 17 to the Consolidated Financial Statements.

**Employees **

As of March 31, 2016, we had 2,933 full-time employees, of which 1,302 were employed outside of the United States. None of our employees is subject to collective bargaining agreements. We consider our relations with employees to be satisfactory.