Could the GTA 6 Delay Also Delay Next-Gen Consoles?

With GTA VI present pushed six much months into November of 2026, we’ve been asking a batch of questions astir however the question of specified a gaming juggernaut is impacting the remainder of the industry. We’ve spoken to analysts astir however this volition interaction 2026’s crippled merchandise slate, and whether it volition deed GTA VI’s income any. But during those conversations, 1 expert brought up an absorbing thought experiment: could GTA VI’s hold besides effect successful the hold of the adjacent procreation of consoles?

This question was posed by Piers Harding-Rolls, probe manager astatine Ampere Analysis. He didn’t travel down connected an reply 1 mode oregon another, but here’s however he’s pondering the possibility:

A question I’m reasoning astir astatine the infinitesimal is: could the precocious accomplishment of GTA VI hold the motorboat of next-gen consoles? As the crippled is specified an important operator of hardware income - not conscionable astatine motorboat but implicit aggregate years, Sony and Microsoft volition person been wanting a overmuch earlier successful the rhythm merchandise than precocious 2026 truthful they could get the afloat benefit. We are presently forecasting a next-gen PlayStation and Xbox to get successful precocious 2027, but mightiness the console companies beryllium tempted to get much from the existent console procreation by riding the GTA VI question and hold until 2028?

Harding-Rolls brings up a bully constituent here. During our conversations with analysts, galore of them pointed retired that the existent procreation of consoles has had a slower adoption complaint than past generations for a fig of reasons: the COVID-19 pandemic made it challenging to get hardware close retired of the gross erstwhile the consoles launched, consoles are much costly present and there’s a batch of economical uncertainty, and a batch of large caller games are inactive being released connected the past procreation of consoles anyway. GTA VI, they say, is expected to velocity up adoption of the existent procreation of consoles, with galore radical waiting specifically for the current-gen-exclusive GTA VI to yet marque the purchase. It stands to crushed that hardware manufacturers wouldn’t privation to statesman talking astir the adjacent procreation of consoles if they felt determination was inactive wealth connected the array with the existent generation, and if that adoption is pushed backmost later, truthful excessively is the adjacent generation.

When I posed Harding-Rolls’ question backmost to the different analysts to spot what they thought, they didn’t deliberation we should interest excessively overmuch astir a delayed next-gen owed to GTA VI, specifically:

“What would Sony really summation by delaying the PS6? Assuming they're aiming for a precocious 2027 merchandise window, that's already a afloat twelvemonth AFTER the motorboat of GTA 6,” said George Jijiashvili, elder main analysts astatine Omdia. “So they'd beryllium delaying a full procreation for immoderate other hardware income driven by radical buying GTA 6 implicit a twelvemonth aft launch? It doesn’t marque sense. Also, wherefore would Sony/Microsoft privation to prioritize selling current-generation consoles for longer, versus getting radical to bargain the next-gen consoles As Soon As Possible? Just similar GTA 5, GTA 6 volition beryllium cross-gen and it volition code the PS5/XSX/S procreation owners for years to come.

“As a broadside note, presently we deliberation that PS6 is astir apt to motorboat for 2028 – adjacent if we did deliberation it would beryllium 2027, we wouldn’t person shifted it owed to GTA 6 delay.”

Rhys Elliott, caput of marketplace investigation astatine Alinea Analytics, felt the aforesaid way, including pointing retired that helium thought 2027 for next-gen consoles feels excessively early, careless of wherever GTA VI falls.

“From the position of PlayStation and Xbox, delaying next-gen hardware conscionable due to the fact that GTA VI moved its merchandise day doesn't marque strategical oregon operational sense. Console launches necessitate monolithic multi-year readying crossed manufacturing, spot proviso contracts, planetary logistics, retail coordination, and first-party bundle schedules. These timelines are locked acold successful beforehand and are hard to displacement without superior fiscal and operational consequences.

“...It would besides exposure Sony and Microsoft to unnecessary risk. The proviso concatenation has proven fragile implicit the past fewer years, and large macroeconomic shifts could easy disrupt accumulation again. Worse still, GTA VI itself could beryllium delayed erstwhile more, leaving level holders with a stretched strategy anchored to a moving target.”

With a twelvemonth inactive to spell until GTA VI’s release, it volition nevertheless beryllium worthy watching and revisiting this question aboriginal on, particularly arsenic we statesman to perceive much rumors and whispers of next-gen console plans. We’re besides watching the different impacts of GTA VI’s hold and eventual release, including who wins and who loses from the delay, the internet’s absorption to the news, however analysts deliberation this volition interaction 2026’s merchandise calendar, and what Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick had to accidental astir it.

Rebekah Valentine is simply a elder newsman for IGN. You tin find her posting connected BlueSky @duckvalentine.bsky.social. Got a communicative tip? Send it to [email protected].