Multiple publishers ‘ready to delay their games’ to avoid GTA6 onslaught, it’s claimed

At least three major video game publishers are prepared to delay their games, depending on the release date of Grand Theft Auto 6, it’s claimed.

Rockstar’s huge sequel is officially due to release this Fall, and although it still does not have a confirmed release date, parent company Take-Two recently claimed it’s on track.

Market analysts are expecting GTA6 to be by far the biggest release of 2025, and unsurprisingly, multiple major publishers are prepared to move their own releases in order to avoid it, according to The Game Business.

“Rockstar games always suck a lot of money and, more importantly, time out of the market,” reportedly said the boss of one of the world’s biggest game publishers. “We don’t want to be anywhere near that. We are working up multiple different plans for our titles.”

Another senior exec is said to have added: “Even without GTA. it’s immensely difficult to find free time for new games to shine. Time is the real scarcity for us, not money. It’s tough out there.”

A third AAA publisher based in Europe told TGB that its most significant concern is if GTA launches at the end of October or early November, giving it little space to manoeuvre its own titles.

“We don’t want to launch just before or just after the game. If it arrives in late October, that means you either have to launch early – which a lot of people seem to be doing with the recent glut of summer release dates. Or go later, putting you up against the Black Friday sales.”

Furthermore, TGB spoke to two developers of ‘Top 10’ live service games who suggested they would move significant updates out of the way of GTA6’s launch window.

“GTA 6 is basically a huge meteor and we will just stay clear of the blast zone,” one studio boss said. “We will nudge our releases back or forward three weeks to avoid it. Of course, the problem is everyone is going to do the same. So three to four weeks before or after GTA 6, you’re going to get a load of games dropping content in what they believe will be the safe zone.”

These comments follow those of Electronic Arts boss Andrew Wilson, who suggested that EA could move its new Battlefield game, depending on when Rockstar’s game finally lands.

Speaking to the FT (paywalled) earlier this year, analysts at DFC Intelligence predicted that GTA 6 will generate $3.2 billion during its first year on sale, which is double what its predecessor managed back in 2013, and significantly more than 2024’s biggest movies Inside Out 2 ($1.7bn), and Deadpool & Wolverine ($1.3bn).

Grand Theft Auto 6 is likely to exceed $1bn in pre-orders before it even becomes available, according to the video games research group.

Commenting on the claims, Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick told the Financial Times: “I never claim victory before it occurs. That said, I think [GTA’s developer] Rockstar Games will once again deliver something absolutely phenomenal . . . Certainly the anticipation is high.”

The first Grand Theft Auto 6 trailer was released in December 2023, confirming a planned 2025 release date. It racked up more than 100 million views in just two days, surpassing the lifetime views of GTA 5‘s debut trailer and making it one of the most-viewed trailers in YouTube history.