Former Blizzard boss says "GTA 6 is king" and "everyone will move their release" when it gets a launch date: "It is really the only game that has the power to do this today"

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"[Borderlands 4] doesn't matter. [Rockstar] is controlled by no one, including their publisher"

GTA 6 trailer screenshots
(Image credit: Rockstar Games)

Former Blizzard president Mike Ybarra reckons Rockstar has the singular privilege of being able to release GTA 6 whenever it wants because every other publisher will move their releases around to avoid its shadow.

Publishers regularly shift around release dates to avoid clashing with other big releases, but Ybarra says GTA 6 is such a behemoth that Rockstar isn't one bit concerned about other games stealing the spotlight.

Ybarra doubled down in response to a tweet arguing it would be advantageous for both Rockstar and Gearbox to avoid releasing games too close to each other. "[Borderlands 4] doesn't matter," he said. "[Rockstar] is controlled by no one, including their publisher."

Adding to that, Ybarra said "in some ways [Borderlands] needs to be 6+ months away from it or it's dead." Jeez, Borderlands 4 is catching some serious strays.

GTA 6 has yet to set a firm release date, but Rockstar parent company Take-Two recently assured fans it's still on track to launch this Fall despite the ever-present risk of "slippage."

Ybarra agreed with a commenter that an October release date is likely and predicted a PC port around June to "give it space."

Rockstar Games seeks perfection in everything they do": Take-Two boss is confident in GTA 6, but "our competitors are not asleep."

Jordan Gerblick
Jordan Gerblick

After earning an English degree from ASU, I worked as a corporate copy editor while freelancing for places like SFX Magazine, Screen Rant, Game Revolution, and MMORPG on the side. I got my big break here in 2019 with a freelance news gig, and I was hired on as GamesRadar's west coast Staff Writer in 2021. That means I'm responsible for managing the site's western regional executive branch, AKA my home office, and writing about whatever horror game I'm too afraid to finish.