GTA 6 release date fear is even impacting movie releases
"It's probably the biggest entertainment event in the last decade."
At points, it can feel like we're never getting a GTA 6 release date, something that's wreaking havoc for any studio that isn't Rockstar Games.
GTA 6's lack of a release date, which has now been confirmed as an active choice by Rockstar, has already led to studios planning on postponing new releases and live-service updates so as not to clash with it.
Indeed, the looming threat of GTA 6 is now so gargantuan that it's even impacting movie release dates too.
In an interview with MediaCat, Arena Media group managing partner Ashley Bolt discussed the year's gaming trends, including how GTA 6 will affect the industry.
"GTA 6 potentially launching this year can be viewed as a positive and a negative," he explained. "Negative because [Rockstar] are likely to drop a lot of money to promote the release, to the point where other games will struggle to get a look-in."
He went on to explain how studios are moving game releases to accommodate GTA 6, and that he had "even heard some films are moving", adding "that's how big a deal GTA is".
For Bolt, GTA 6 is less a game release as much as it is an event, and a truly enormous one at that.
"It's not just the biggest event in gaming in the last decade," he began, "it's probably the biggest entertainment event in the last decade."
By entering your details you are agreeing to our terms and conditions and privacy policy. You can unsubscribe at any time.
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
But while GTA 6's release effectively spells doom for any games unfortunate enough to release alongside it, GTA 6 does bring with it one major boon for the industry.
"That game is likely to be a true console seller," he explained. "People will buy a console to play it. GTA 5 is still in the top of most played and most sold games."
Noting that if GTA 6 does grow the market via console sales, it will give companies the chance to capitalise.
"GTA brought them into Xbox or PlayStation; what can we do to keep them there and keep playing additional games?"
The industry has seen similar spikes in recent years following the releases of games like Elden Ring and Hogwarts Legacy.
That being said, GTA 6 appears to be in a league of its own when it comes to hype, and its impact on the market will likely eclipse these two games with ease.
Read more on GTA:
- Full list of GTA 5 cheat codes
- Full list of GTA Vice City cheat codes
- Full list of GTA San Andreas cheats
- Full list of GTA 3 cheat codes
- Full list of GTA 4 cheat codes
- GTA 6 release date - all the latest rumours
- Fastest car in GTA 5 - how to get it
- GTA 5 mods - all our favourites
- GTA 5 voice actors - the full cast
Check out more of our Gaming coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more from the biggest stars in TV, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.
Authors
