"We really don't see any force that could stop GTA 6": Not even multiple delays and angry employees can prevent Rockstar from making GTA 6 the "gaming event of the decade," experts say

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An immovable object meets an unstoppable GTA 6

GTA 6
(Image credit: Rockstar Games)

I don't think there's enough rebar on the planet to keep GTA 6 from blowing your house down. GamesRadar+ checked with experts, and they all agree developer Rockstar is unstoppable with its sequel, due November 19, 2026.

We asked them explicitly: Is there any force that could stop GTA 6 from being one of the biggest launches of all time? Circana analyst Mat Piscatella answers with a resolute, "No. (And if there were some force that could do that I'm not sure I'd want to consider what it could be.)"

This is his opinion even though GTA 6 has been delayed and Rockstar has taken a bit of a beating – at the moment, the Independent Workers' Union of Great Britain (IWGB) is staging protests across Europe in defense of 31 former Rockstar employees it says were wrongly fired for union activity. UK Parliament has started actively discussing this alleged act of union busting, with Parliament member Christine Jardine explicitly asking Ministers "to support workers who have lost their jobs, and stop this from happening again."

GTA 6

(Image credit: Rockstar Games)

But Rockstar and its parent company Take-Two are such giants, its ongoing labor controversy might be more like getting bit by a mosquito than a bear. CEO of Kantan Games, a consultancy that focuses on the Japanese game industry, Dr. Serkan Toto believes that "it's such a big organization that I doubt Take-Two's management gave thought to the fired workers for more than 1 minute."

The GTA 6 launch delays, then, are even less significant. NYU Stern School of Business professor Joost van Dreunen tells us, "Financially, the delay has an insignificant impact on the company. Take-Two's strong quarterly results, bolstered by Zynga’s turnaround and 2K’s solid year, give it breathing room."

"GTA 6 will deliver its projected $2.7 billion launch windfall," van Dreunen continues. "Take-Two can afford patience."

In short, as DFC Intelligence consultancy CEO David Cole phrases it, "We really don't see any force that could stop GTA 6."

"Going against GTA 6 for such games would be suicide": GTA 6 delay is bad for everyone except Rockstar, as analysts predict major devs will avoid a 2026 winter release like it's rancid.

Ashley Bardhan
Ashley Bardhan
Senior Writer

Ashley is a Senior Writer at GamesRadar+. She's been a staff writer at Kotaku and Inverse, too, and she's written freelance pieces about horror and women in games for sites like Rolling Stone, Vulture, IGN, and Polygon. When she's not covering gaming news, she's usually working on expanding her doll collection while watching Saw movies one through 11.

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