GTA 6 being on track "very important for momentum of industry" says expert

A video games expert says while he understands fans may have wanted to see more about GTA 6 ahead of Take-Two's latest earnings call, the fact the game is currently on track for an Autumn 2025 release "is potentially very important for the momentum of the industry".

Rockstar Games' parent company Take-Two hosted an earnings call on August 8 when it confirmed GTA 6 is still on schedule but remained tight-lipped over any other updates, including when asked what stage development is at.

But one expert thinks the game being on track is extremely positive in itself given the current challenges the games industry is facing.

George Osborn is the creator of Video Games Industry Memoand the managing director of Half-Space Consulting with 15 years' experience in the industry having also studied at the University of Cambridge.

"It's good to see it's still on track, I think the games industry has had quite a challenging 2024," he said speaking to Indy100.

"It's been a year in which we've seen the console generation starting to wind down, we've been seeing in declining sales in terms of the PS5, the Xbox Series devices and the Nintendo Switch.

"There's been this weird lull after 2023 when there was so much heat and noise in terms of games release so I think for people who are looking for big releases, both to play and for the industry to anchor itself around, GTA 6 not slipping from Autumn 2025 is potentially very important for the momentum of the industry into next year."

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In an interview with Variety ahead of the earnings call, Take-Two's chair and CEO Strauss Zelnick was asked if the company will reveal the release date for GTA 6 ahead of, or during, its next earnings call in November.

He said: "I guess we'll see."

Osborn thinks that could be a good sign for more news about GTA 6 being revealed later in 2024.

"I think there is a pretty strong hint that we're going to see something about it in this year, which is of course very exciting," he said.

"I think when you look at what else has gone on in the industry, if you look at things like the lay-offs that have hit various companies and the challenges that have faced the sector, keeping a development project on track I think is difficult, and it's the case for something as big and significant as this.

"To see it maintaining that date is a good sign, even if I understand that people who want to play it want to see a bit more."

Osborn'sVideo Games Industry Memo is sent out every Thursday and he's writing his debut non-fiction book called Power Play, a look at how video games are changing the world.

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