3 major publishers are ready to delay games to evade GTA 6

Reports indicate that publishers are wary to set release dates for their games because no one wants to compete against Grand Theft Auto 6.

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GTA 6 is set to "save" the games industry by capitalizing on 12 years of hype. Rockstar's new Grand Theft Auto is expected to be so big that it will collectively uplift the console games industry--after all, you can only play it on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S at launch.

There's also the disastrous effect of GTA's wake, and publishers don't want to see their $100 million AAA games get swallowed up. Some companies are even ready to push back their projects just in case GTA 6 does meet its intended Fall 2025 launch timing. Bosses at various publishers tell The Game Business' Chris Dring that they're poised to delay games to steer clear of GTA 6.

This reveals an interesting inside look at how publishers are thinking about GTA 6. The conclusion is that time is the real commodity, and everyone will likely be too busy playing GTA 6 to not only buy, but also play, a publisher's competing game.

The identity of the publishers and the sources themselves remains anonymous, but here's what they told The Game Business:

"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."

"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."

"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."