Judas is shaping up to be one of the most interesting projects that is set for a 2025 release, with the core concepts for the title first being thought of as far back as 2014. The heavy similarities between the game and the BioShock franchise have already set some heavy expectations for Judas, with some massive question marks recently cropping up regarding the game’s release date.
The level of uncertainty that surrounds Judas‘ release date could be partially attributed to developmental delays, but it seems more likely that Grand Theft Auto 6 is playing a direct role in deciding a time window of when fans can expect to get their hands on the title. Both Judas and Grand Theft Auto 6 are linked by Take-Two Interactive ownership, meaning that Judas is going to be even more wary of launching too closely to Rockstar’s latest project than other big games within the industry.
Related
Grand Theft Auto Fans Think the Switch 2 Is Bad News for GTA 6
Grand Theft Auto 6 fans believe the Nintendo Switch 2 could be bad news for the upcoming title due to one vital factor.
Grand Theft Auto 6’s Plans Could Be a Great Indicator of Judas’ Release Date
Judas is the debut title from Ghost Story Games, a new studio founded by Ken Levine, the creative lead of the BioShock franchise. Levine founded the studio following the closure of Irrational Games, with many fans already considering Judas an unofficial BioShock game due to the narrative, art style, and gameplay similarities between the two franchises.
Despite the massive pre-release attention that Judas has garnered because of this and its revealed gameplay, many reports have suggested that the game’s development has been quite strenuous, with this likely being reflected in the title’s recently missed release window. The most conservative estimations of Judas‘ launch pointed to a March 2025 release window at the latest, although this has passed with no updates from Ghost Story.
One of Judas‘ most interesting reported elements is its “Narrative LEGO” approach, with the game possessing no fixed narrative and instead pulling from a wide range of story and gameplay assets that mold around the players actions to create an untold level of replayability.
Ghost Story is owned by Take-Two Interactive, the same publishing company that oversees Rockstar and the Grand Theft Auto franchise, and the missed original release window of Judas likely places the title in a dangerous overlap with Grand Theft Auto 6. Of course, GTA 6 is considered to be one of the most anticipated game releases of all time, with the impact that it is projected to have already having clear consequences in terms of other releases not wanting to compete with the project around the time of its release.
A 2026 Release Window Would Give Judas the Time it Needs to Stamp its Own Identity
Despite the relative level of secrecy, Rockstar is still seemingly firm on a late 2025 release window for GTA 6, and Take-Two will surely want to shrewdly time the release of Judas so that it is impacted as little as possible by its other showstopping project. If Judas‘ late development is as tumultuous as it appears to be, then a release earlier than the launch of Grand Theft Auto 6 seems implausible, meaning Ghost Story might have to look beyond GTA 6‘s release for an ideal time to debut its project.
Judas will also have to contend with the launch of Borderlands 4 in September, and its status as a standalone debut title for a new studio may make Take-Two even more reluctant to place Judas in the same highly competitive release window as the next Borderlands. It seems at this point that Judas‘ release will be timed after the launch of Grand Theft Auto 6, with enough time needing to have passed to allow Judas to thrive outside its Take-Two peer’s massive shadow, meaning players could expect Judas to launch as late as March 2026 to give it some breathing room away from the Rockstar title.
Judas
- Released
-
March 1, 2025
- ESRB
-
t
- Engine
-
Unreal Engine 4
Source link