The Game Business has reported that at least three major video game publishers are prepared to shift the release dates of their titles in order to avoid the behemoth that is Rockstar’s Grand Theft Auto VI.
Rockstar Games has announced a Fall 2025 release window for GTA VI, although a concrete date hasn’t been confirmed yet. However, publishers are apparently already looking at delaying titles in order to avoid clashing with the open-world sequel, with the head of one major publisher telling the publication:
Rockstar games always suck a lot of money and, more importantly, time out of the market. We don’t want to be anywhere near that. We are working up multiple different plans for our titles.
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A senior executive is reportedly have commented: “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.”
Finally, a European-based publisher of triple-A software added:
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.
The Game Business also revealed that it spoke to two developers of a ‘Top 10′ live service products, who both indicated they would be willing to delay the release of major updates to their games to avoid the launch window for Rockstar’s crime juggernaut.
GTA 6 is basically a huge meteor and we will just stay clear of the blast zone. 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.
Grand Theft Auto VI launches on PS5 and Xbox Series X/S in Fall 2025.
[Source – The Game Business via VGC]