Almost every video game under the sun is running away from GTA 6's November release date, but indie developer Tomas Sala doesn't think that should necessarily be the case because the main audience for GTA 6 probably isn't rushing to buy the latest buzzy visual novel or management sim about running a movie rental store, let's say.
The acclaimed developer behind aerial combat sim The Falconeer and its city-building sandbox spin-off Bulwark: Falconeer Chronicles is gearing up to release another game in the gorgeous series: ShipShaper, a game about designing your own ships that's hitting early access on September 2.
Speaking to GamesIndustry, Sala explains that when it came time to settle on a launch window for ShipShaper, he "saw all this stress about, 'Oh my God, GTA [6] is coming, you have to pack it before September.'" But despite squeezing into the crowd of new games seeking refuge from Rockstar Games' blockbuster, Sala doesn't think it was strictly necessary.
"I don't see why people are scared of it," he tells the outlet. "It [GTA] has its own f***ing audience that doesn't go around buying nerdy niche sailing games or nerdy puzzle games or tiny story-driven emotional deckbuilders. They just want to play GTA."
Sala notes that purchasing habits don't support developers' fears that everything will be buried by GTA since most players don't actually buy games all that often, as odd as that might sound.
As GamesIndustry notes, a 2025 Circana survey found that only 4% of US players buy a game more than once a month, and 33% of the US gaming audience buys a game less than once a year: "I'm pretty sure that's not the GTA audience." Some of the biggest games on PS5, Xbox, and Steam are often ones that came out years ago, too.
Another big reason why GTA 6 is being treated like an incoming meteor is because it'll inevitably suck up a lot of air in the room - social media algorithms and the front page of websites will surely be full of GTA 6 stories come launch - but Sala also doesn't see that as a problem for most indie games that struggle to get coverage with or without a GTA on the horizon.
But successful indies can break out without influencers or traditional media "because they find their audience." The 'nerdy niche' crowd will find their 'nerdy niche' games, regardless. "We can talk about the industry as if it's in a downturn – and for many people it is – but if you look at what gets made and put out, it's a golden age," he says.
