Grand Theft Auto 6 is highly anticipated by fans of the series, but it turns out many publishers are also anticipating the game’s release. Rockstar Games is at the top of the industry, and GTA 6 is clearly going to be a huge seller, which means the competition has to stay out of the way. And a new report hints at just what other AAA studios are thinking about GTA 6‘s impending release in 2025.

It’s hard to ignore Grand Theft Auto 6 when Rockstar spent a lot of money on its development. Some are even calling GTA 6 the most expensive game ever made based on rumored development costs. And that’s all on top of how anticipated the next GTA game is, with new rumors and reports seemingly arriving every week. It’s easy to see how the competition may see the release as a big obstacle.

New Report Says GTA 6 Release Will Cause Major Games To Delay

It’s Hard To Blame Publishers Who Are Worried About Sales

Image credit | Rockstar

A new report from The Game Business reveals that the impending release of Grand Theft Auto 6 is causing widespread anxiety among game publishers. There are some confirmed delays and strategic shifts in release dates for several high-profile titles in 2025. The sheer scale of GTA 6‘s anticipated dominance is making many publishers take drastic measures to avoid direct competition in what is expected to be the biggest gaming event of the year.

Industry executives are openly voicing their concerns to The Game Business. One boss of a world’s leading game publisher stated that Rockstar Games’ releases always suck a lot of money and time out of the market. It’s hard to imagine that publishers want their games anywhere near that. The Game Business also said that some publishers have many different plans for titles, which would help if GTA were to announce the delay everyone is worried is coming.

According to the Financial Times, Grand Theft Auto 6 is expected to make 40 million sales and $3 billion in revenue in its first year. This sounds reasonable thanks to how important the series is to the gaming industry. It is not a wild statement to say that Grand Theft Auto 6 may be the highest-selling game this decade after it releases. It’s one of the most anticipated sequels since GTA 5 was released in 2013.

The “blast zone” isn’t going to be focused on the week of release, but instead the weeks around release…

GTA 5 only took three days to reach a billion dollars in sales, per Gameindustry. GTA 5 accounted for 50% of all game revenue during its launch month in the US, while it accounted for two thirds in the UK. This is despite only being available for the latter half of the month. The Game Business claims publishers refer to the around a GTA release as “the blast zone,” which may mean other games won’t be safe.

No One Wants To Release A Game When GTA 6 Launches

No One Wants To Take On The Top Dog

The impending release of Grand Theft Auto 6 is not something to overlook. Any other games will be affected if they launch around that time, because so many gamers will want GTA 6 on release. The hype has risen so high that it wouldn’t even matter to some if the game came out at $100. Publishers have to be careful when they choose to launch their games because too much attention would be on the Grand Theft Auto release.

The “blast zone” isn’t going to be focused on the week of release, but instead the weeks around release, which is a period when GTA 6 will likely dominate the market’s conversation and consumer focus. Unfortunately, since no one knows when Grand Theft Auto will release, it’s a game of waiting. Finding a safe window is almost impossible right now, and if one is given around the release date, then a delay needs to be made and that game will face the ire of players.

One publisher told The Game Business, “If [GTA 6] arrives in late October, that means you either have to launch early… Or go later, putting you up against the Black Friday sales.” It’s hard to plan a release day, but it’s even harder when you have to plan against an unknown, and publishers need contingency plans on top of strategic maneuvering just to try and release this year.

Bad News For People Who Don’t Care About GTA 6 But Still Want Games

There Will Be A Time With No Releases

Grand Theft Auto 6 is great, but it will cast a long shadow over the 2025 video game industry. If a few publishers want to avoid competing with Rockstar, they’re going to have to release late or early. It is doubtful that a game will release early, so publishers will likely have to wait until after the release of GTA for their own games. That’s okay for anyone who is waiting for GTA 6, but not for everyone else.

The most immediate consequence is a compressed release schedule, since every other studio will likely try to avoid Rockstar’s date. Instead of a steady stream of diverse games throughout the year, players can expect a potentially chaotic crowding of releases in specific time windows. These concentrated release periods mean a higher likelihood of highly anticipated games launching in proximity to each other. This will lead to some intense competition for player attention and hurt sales for everyone.

This increased competition isn’t just bad for the games alone; releasing too many games at one time makes the odds of any one game achieving lasting success more difficult. That could mean not shining enough to get future titles. Publishers will, understandably, focus their marketing dollars on the windows with the least competition. The games that aren’t part of the big releases run the risk of being overlooked. For a studio making an indie game or a double A, that could mean the end of their business.

Then there are those who have to compete with GTA 6. A sudden influx of major releases, all vying for attention, places players in a position to make choices. Some players can choose more than one, but for many, $70 is a lot of money. Games are not cheap, and a budget means that only one game can be bought. This means players can’t get the game they wanted after they buy GTA, so even the big studios will get hurt by the release.

We live in an interesting time when games can get too successful for the competition. We can only guess the effect this will have, but it is a difficult time for any studio that is trying to release this year. Rockstar is pretty much guaranteed to outsell anyone who dares get in the way, and that may mean we’ll see a period of no competition for GTA after the release of Grand Theft Auto 6. Hopefully, things can get back to normal soon after.