The new delay of GTA 6 brings with it a series of collateral damage that will impact the video game industry and what we can expect from a year like 2026.
GTA 6 is a beast, a colossus that will destroy everything in its path as soon as it arrives. Without a doubt, Rockstar’s latest is the most anticipated game in years (if not in the entire history of video games) and this label can cause an entire earthquake.
Although the first tremors have already occurred. The worst news we could have has been confirmed. GTA VI is delayed until November 2026six months after the date rock star had established. A year from now. Fans held their breath, but so did the entire video game industry.
But GTA 6 delay could have much bigger consequences than the first announced one, which already made headlines (like when the creators of Ghost of Yotei breathed a sigh of relief at the delay). The year 2026 aspires to be a very curious year.
And that’s it There are many renowned games that will arrive next year. Promises of 2026 and a poster composed of Resident Evil Requiem, Crimson Desert, Saros007 First Light, Beast of ReincarnationOnimusha Path of the Sword, FablesGears of War E-Day, The Blood of Dawnwalker, The Twilight Bloods any Subnautica 2.
It seemed like everything was more or less settled when we found out that GTA 6 would arrive at the end of May, but Delay to November puts dozens of companies and games in check. It is a much more “problematic” date than May for several reasons.
GTA 6 could collapse the industry
The arrival of GTA 6 was, for many, the opportunity to monetize the most important launch of the year putting out more units of its console, as a PC version hasn’t even been announced yet. I know for a fact that PlayStation would produce more consoles to accompany the launch, probably more PS5 Pro units, to get the most out of the game.
With this new delay, PlayStation’s plans went to helland with it the quarterly forecasts for the first half of the year, because logically, these consoles are either manufactured later, or will spend more time taking up space in a warehouse. And that has a cost. It’s just a small sample of the domino effect of this delay… but there’s more.
At least if you follow video game news a little, you’ll know that September and October are very busy dates in terms of releases.. Just look at the present 2025, where we had Pokémon Legends: ZA, Ninja Gaiden 4, Battlefield 6, Ghost of Yotei, Digimon Story Time Stranger, Hades II, Hollow Knight Silksong, Silent Hill f, Borderlands 4 or Dying Light: The Beast, among others.
In these two months, it is customary to condense a huge number of games, which are launched to also capture future sales from the Christmas campaign. So, if GTA 6 arrives in November… Will other companies dare to release their game a few weeks earlier?
Of course, launching at the same level or after GTA 6 is a death sentence and it is likely to do so in October as well. It is to be expected that many players (who buy two or three games a year at most) will choose to wait and save for GTA (if it costs 100 euros).
And this is where a strange situation can manifest itself, that we have two months after the summer in which there are almost no powerful releases due to fear of GTA VI. The case of Marvel’s Wolverine could serve as an example to expose the situation.
The PlayStation exclusive is one of the most anticipated for PS5 and is scheduled for the second half of 2026, with a release window for autumn appearing in the trailer. Will it dare to coincide with being an open world game aimed at an adult audience? What will Insomniac do? Rush to have it sooner? Delay appropriately?
If the fear of being devoured by GTA VI manifests itself, 2026 could be something quite strange. Either we could have a full year of games from January to June, with companies predicting not to coincide, or we could witness a blank year for many developers.
Delay in GTA 6 could cause much more delays in the mentioned gamessomething that can leave us without powerful and attractive titles, but also advances, which can give us incomplete or poorly optimized releases (something that is not the first time that has happened).
Furthermore, there is a third option and even a fourth. For commercial or scheduling reasons, other games squeezing to avoid the big fish could create a case of extreme competition on the other side of the pond. Total cannibalism.
Finally, it could also happen that there is no other choice but to coincide with GTA 6, that the economic return on the few sales is very low and that this has an impact on company workers, who will not be to blame for anything.
There are many hypotheses, but what seems clear is that GTA 6 will be unstoppableThey arrive in May, November or even later. The first release date left more space for other games, but towards the end of the year everything becomes much more complicated.
Almost fifteen years waiting for a new installment of one of the most important sagas in history is no small feat and after what we saw in the brilliant Red Dead Redemption 2, The curiosity to see what’s new from Rockstar will be unbearable for many, many.
Finally, the fact that GTA 6 arrives later could also be a good deal for some players. We remind you that the game will only be released for PS5 and Xbox Series X|S. This means that until the end of 2027 or even 2028, it will not be available on PC. More collateral damage…
The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily or exactly coincide with the position of Henneo or Hobbyconsolas Magazines.
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