Key Takeaways
- According to Bloomberg, publishers are reluctant to schedule release dates in late 2025 for fear of clashing with GTA 6.
- Take-Two and Rockstar are targeting a fall 2025 release window, but Rockstar is prone to missing deadlines.
- Publishers are waiting and seeing if Rockstar will let GTA 6 slip into 2026.
The ever-reliable Jason Schreier of Bloomberg reports that industry publishers are unwilling to commit to fall 2025 release dates while the spectre of Grand Theft Auto 6 looms over the period.
Rockstar has previously announced that it intends to release Grand Theft Auto 6 during this period, but delays are very common at the studio; understandably so, as Grand Theft Auto 6 is set to be one of the biggest media products of all time, if not the biggest. Grand Theft Auto 5 is one of the best-selling games of all time and is almost certainly the video game that has generated the most revenue ever when you factor in the money made from GTA Online’s microtransactions.
Everyone Wants to Dodge Grand Theft Auto 6
However, the uncertainty regarding Grand Theft Auto 6’s release has created an unwillingness among publishers to commit to a firm release date in the same period as Rockstar has announced it intends to release the game, Bloomberg reports.
“Anticipation is so high that some competing game publishers are waiting as long as possible to commit to their release dates for the fall, according to people familiar with their deliberations who asked not to be identified because they weren’t authorised to speak publicly. The publishers want to see whether GTA 6 will make its deadline or slip into 2026, these people say, and they’re determined to keep their own games far, far away,” the report reads.
I think we all understand that launching the same week as Grand Theft Auto 6 would not be ideal for either sales or player retention, but we also live in a generation where publishers can and do transparently push back release dates to avoid excessive competition. Obsidian’s Avowed was delayed until February 2025 to “give players’ backlogs some breathing room,” even though the game was ready to ship.
As it stands, there are almost no games announced that far ahead besides Grand Theft Auto 6.
Grand Theft Auto 6 is an upcoming title in the long-running series from Rockstar Games. Currently scheduled for a 2025 launch, details are few, although it appears to focus on a Bonnie-and-Clyde-like pair of characters.