A new report has highlighted the “havoc” Grand Theft Auto 6’s lack of a release date is causing among game publishers, as they attempt to draw up launch plans for their titles that won’t put them on a collision course with Rockstar’s all-consuming sequel – with one executive reportedly saying, “We don’t want to be anywhere near that.”
Following comments made by EA’s Andrew Wilson earlier this year suggesting the publisher would be willing to shift the new Battlefield’s release in order to avoid GTA 6, journalist Christopher Dring spoke to a number of industry executives to understand how Rockstar’s game was impacting their own decision making behind the scenes – with the responses he received reflecting those previously expressed by Wilson.
Speaking on the newly launched The Game Business podcast, Dring relayed a quote from the boss of “one of the biggest games publishers in the world”, who didn’t want to go on record. “Rockstar games always suck a lot of money and, more importantly, time out of the market,” the executive told Dring. “We don’t want to be anywhere near that. We’re working up multiple different plans for our title.”
Another senior executive from a different publisher shared similar sentiments, telling Dring, “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 senior executive – the European boss of an unnamed triple-A publisher – highlighted additional concerns, specifically around the “fall” launch window previously touted for GTA 6’s launch by Take-Two Interactive. “We don’t want to launch just before or just after the game,” the executive explained. “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.”
“If we move out of 2025,” the executive continued. “what if Rockstar do too? Will we have to push our game up or will we have to delay further? It’s proven to be very stressful.”
Dring said these kind of considerations are currently “causing a bit of havoc” across the games industry, and it’s not just a problem for publishers looking to launch new releases; GTA 6’s arrival is also likely to impact the fortunes of live-service games too. One “top 10 live service games” developer told Dring, “GTA 6 is basically a huge meteor and we will stay clear of the blast zone. We will nudge our updates 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 live service games dropping content in what they believe will be the safe zone.”
“It’s obviously going to get a little bit messy,” Dring noted. But as he also highlighted, history suggests publisher have good reason to be concerned. Looking back to GTA 5’s launch in September 2013, Dring explained, 50 percent of the month’s game revenue was for Rockstar’s title – despite it only releasing half-way through September. As for GTA 5’s launch week in the UK, Rockstar’s game reportedly accounted for 89 percent of all games sold and 94% of all video game revenue – and the the title is also said to have accounted for two thirds of all games sold in the UK during the three “blast zone” following its release.
Take-Two has been doggedly sticking to the same autumn launch window for GTA 6 it announced last May – despite persistent reports of a potential delay. But as noted by Game File’s Stephen Totilo during The Game Business podcast, there seems to be one relatively safe spot on the calendar right now: it’s unlikely GTA 6 will release on or during the weeks surrounding 23rd September – given that’s the window Take-Two announced for Borderlands 4’s arrival earlier this year.