Episode Details

Hello hello! Welcome to the very first The Game Business Newsletter. It’s a treat to have you here with us. We’re kicking things off with all things GTA, and the industry’s preparation over its launch… but what does the data say?

Plus, we chat about the launch of Assassin’s Creed Shadows, discuss the Trump Tarrifs and report back from GDC regarding the ESA’s new accessibility mission.

You can read all about it below. But if reading’s not your bag, why not listen (or watch) The Game Business Show, where I’m joined by Game File’s very own Stephen Totilo to discuss those very same topics (plus plenty of GDC chat). You can watch it above, or download it via all good podcasting platforms.

1:Huge games prepare to flee GTA6 launch

Three major video game publishers have told The Game Business they are ready to delay their games to avoid Grand Theft Auto 6.

Rockstar’s first GTA game in 12 years is due for release at the end of 2025, and game companies are holding off confirming their Q4 release slate until the developer makes its move.

“Rockstar games always suck a lot of money and, more importantly, time out of the market,” said the boss of one of the world’s biggest game publishers. “We don’t want to be anywhere near that. We are working up multiple different plans for our titles.”

Another senior exec added: “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.”

The comments follow EA boss Andrew Wilson admitting it might push back its major Battlefield relaunch due to “some things happening in the year that may cause us to think differently about our launch timing”. The firm says it expects the game to be ready to hit its FY 2026 release window, but it will consider an alternative window to ensure it has the “appropriate time, energy, and player acquisition opportunity for this Battlefield to be all that it needed to be.”

A European boss of a AAA publisher told TGB that the real issue is if the game launches at the end of October or early November.

“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.”

It’s not just new releases facing this challenge. TGB spoke to two developers of Top 10 live-service games, and they also admitted that they don’t plan any significant updates to their games during the GTA 6 launch window.

“GTA 6 is basically a huge meteor and we will just stay clear of the blast zone,” one studio boss told us. “We will nudge our releases back or forward three weeks to avoid it. Of course, the problem is everyone is going to do the same. So three to four weeks before or after GTA 6, you’re going to get a load of games dropping content in what they believe will be the safe zone.”

Another developer added: “There’s no point swimming against the current. We just need to prepare to win players back once the excitement has started to die down.”

The companies we spoke to told us that it’s the uncertainty that’s playing havoc with their planning, with publishers preparing for multiple eventualities.

“If we move out to 2025, what if Rockstar do, too?” asked the same European boss. “Will we have time to push our game up? Or will we have to delay further? It’s stressful.”

But is the industry overreacting?

The last time a new Grand Theft Auto was rel