Top game publishers ready to delay games to avoid ‘GTA VI’ launch, TGB says

Three major video game publishers have told The Game Business that they are prepared to postpone their own game releases to avoid the launch window of Take-Two’s (TTWO) “Grand Theft Auto VI,” which is slated to come out near the end of 2025. “Rockstar games always suck a lot of money and, more importantly, time out of the market,” said the head of one of the world’s biggest game publishers, accorinding to The Game Business’ Christpher Dring. “We don’t want to be anywhere near that. We are working up multiple different plans for our titles.” “Even without GTA, it’s immensely difficult to find free time for new games to shine,” another executive told Dring. “Time is the real scarcity for us, not money. It’s tough out there.” Meanwhile, a European boss of a AAA publisher told Dring that the main issue would be if “GTA VI” releases at the end of October or early November. “We don’t want to launch just before or just after the game,” they said. “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.”