The gaming industry was shocked by the announcement of the release of GTA 6. delayed againthe release of which was postponed from May to November 19, 2026. The news was revealed as part of an impressive Take-Two Interactive event. second quarter financial resultsand Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick said GamesIndustry.biz that he was “not in the least” I'm a little worried about the impact of the delay on his business.
But it's fair to assume the news has caused concern among others in the industry, especially publishers, with a Q4 2024 release now set to line up with what will likely be the biggest game launch in history. Others, however, will relish the prospect of the second quarter window opening.
GamesIndustry.biz contacted a number of industry figures, including publishers, marketers and journalists, to get their reaction to the GTA 6 delay and how it could impact their 2026 plans. You'll find their responses below, but first, analyst Piers Harding-Rolls gives his views on how the delay could impact the industry as a whole.
Piers Harding-Rolls (Director of Game Research, Ampere Analysis)
Publishers will undoubtedly change release schedules to avoid competition with GTA 6. However, some annual franchises regularly release in November, including Call of Duty. I'm not sure it's in the best interest of the industry or market to release in the same month. It's entirely possible that the 2026 version of CoD will release before November. Publishers whose releases appear in the previous launch window will, of course, breathe easier.
The delay will have a significant impact on console sales dynamics in 2026. In 2026, console sales will be even busier than usual. Overall, in terms of launch timing and increased console sales, I think the fourth quarter release is better than the second quarter due to the dynamics of the gifting season, so there is a silver lining to some extent.
“Could the late arrival of GTA 6 affect the entry of next-generation consoles into the market?”
Pierce Harding-Rolls, Ampere Analysis
The question I'm thinking about more progressively is this: could the late arrival of GTA 6 affect the market launch of the next generation of consoles? Since the game is such a big driver of hardware sales – not just at launch, but for years to come – Sony and Microsoft will want its release much sooner than late 2026 so they can gain momentum earlier in the cycle.
We're currently predicting that the next-gen PlayStation and Xbox will arrive in late 2027, but could console companies be tempted to get more out of the current generation of consoles by riding the GTA 6 wave and waiting until 2028? The fact that games are now cross-gen may make this factor less important, but the size of the GTA franchise is such that the timing of the launch will force all parts of the gaming business to think about their product strategies.
Stefano Petrullo (founder of Renaissance PR)
Because of this delay, I expect significant changes to the 2026 entertainment calendar (not just gaming). Many Q4 games could now change – either coming out earlier (perhaps with less polish) or later (potentially at the expense of revenue).
In terms of our own plans, this actually gives us a little more breathing room around May/June. In some ways, the delay may be to our advantage. November is already notoriously crowded, and instead of multiple AAA launches, we will now have one AAA game dominating the entire window, sucking up all the oxygen, so to speak. Of course, the full effect will depend on how other publishers react and where their titles fall in the reshuffle.
We already have a GTA 6 slide in our presentation to help manage event coverage expectations for all of our clients to ensure we have contingencies and creative ideas on how to handle one of the biggest entertainment events of the last few years.
Alex Nichiporchik (CEO of TinyBuild)
The delay allows us to be more flexible with launches in the second and third quarters. Let AAA fight it out in the fourth quarter.
Alex Donaldson (Eurogamer Editor-in-Chief; Owner/Founder of RPG Site)
My first thought was relief that at least the calendar year 2026 is still here! It's clear that GTA is a huge success for all media and everyone is excited about the content and traffic opportunities it will bring. At the same time, I don't think many gaming media outlets have the luxury of planning that far ahead. [as] at this stage in May next year – this kind of planning should have started in the new year, so we are not loading detailed plans into the shredder. Although I know some members of our team are reconsidering their vacation plans – suddenly going away in May has become more feasible!
The main thing this makes me think about is not just the delay in any GTA rumors or the GTA “bump” to the media landscape, but the effect this will have on the rest of next year. Rest assured, games will be moved back as a result of this – some holiday events from 2026 will certainly be carried forward to 2027, and so on. Some of this we may learn informally by word of mouth, and some of this may remain a corporate secret, but ultimately, all of this will have a profound impact on our workflow in the next year. I think about this more than anyone else, as I spend my time on several publications – and while for some of them GTA is crucial, for at least one it goes beyond the scope of coverage. So, in 2026, the key mission will be to find opportunities outside of the GTA.
There's another important point: the delay gave us the perfect opportunity to write more about GTA, which we otherwise wouldn't have done at the same level this week. This is good for traffic, allows you to start interesting conversations with readers and talk about the harsh realities of game development – be it Recent Layoffs at Rockstarhow long it takes to create complex games or whatever.
Enrique Olifers (co-founder of Bossa Studios)
Like most of our peers in the industry, we are on the lookout for game release periods that have the potential to generate significant influencer mobilization and huge timeshares from players, with GTA 6 being a prime example of this profile. The move to November 2026 opens the door for some of our games to launch, so the schedule will be adjusted to reflect Rockstar's latest developments.
Charlotte Willis (Public Relations Director at Diva Agency)
It definitely affected things, that's for sure! We have just witnessed the 2026 calendar being rewritten overnight in one of the largest, if not the largest, That the biggest game releases of recent years. We observed a similar domino effect, but on a different scale, when Hollow Knight: Silksong exit window moved and other indie developers were scrambling to find a new launch date. This GTA 6 delay is the same phenomenon, but magnified a thousand times, especially since competitors have already changed their release dates according to their latest delay.
Our role now is to collaborate with our clients, listen to their concerns and provide advice where necessary in this new situation.
It is very important to remember that not every game is direct competition. A client with a deep JRPG or a cozy farming sim has a fundamentally different audience than GTA 6, so their core fans will still be there for them and their sales may not suffer much.
“The second quarter window that Rockstar just vacated suddenly became the most expensive real estate of the year.”
Charlotte Willis, Diva Agency
However, we must be realistic about the priorities of the press and authors. The goal of these games is to fight for a “share of voice.” GTA 6 will consume most of its indoor oxygen in the fourth quarter of 2026. So now our job is to find the best ways for our clients to be heard before and after this noise.
But to be optimistic for a moment, Rockstar's Q2 window, which had just been vacated, suddenly became the most valuable real estate of the year. This delay not only created a problem, but also created a huge new opportunity for the right games to step in and take over the first half of 2026 – if they're ready to release then. Therefore, we view this as a strategic realignment rather than a disaster. But in this industry of delays and shadow crashes, we are always prepared for change and disruption, so this didn't take us by surprise, but just might give us some GTM. [go-to-markets] adapt.
Mario Wynands (CEO of PikPok)
It was interesting to see the shuffling of release dates for various games caused by the previous GTA 6 delay and Silksong's sudden release date delay, and it was also interesting to try to analyze the pros and cons of releasing alongside these monster games. The news is pretty recent, but we have something scheduled for release at the same time, so we've already started discussing whether to change our plans.
Damien Sarrazin (CEO and founder of HomeRun PR)
GTA 6's delay inevitably changes the landscape of the 2026 release. For many of our clients, this opens a valuable window into what was previously thought to be completely dominated by Rockstar's marketing and media clout. Over the next few weeks, we will be reviewing our launch timing and campaign strategies to take advantage of this breathing space. While GTA's delay is getting attention, it also creates new opportunities for other games to shine in a less crowded spotlight.
