GTA 6 release date is 'the most important' in gaming history, says analyst

Grand Theft Auto VI’s upcoming release is a big deal. You don’t need to be a gaming expert to come to that conclusion.

Grand Theft Auto V, which was released back in 2013, remains the second best-selling game of all-time, so it’s no wonder that there are so many eyes on its successor.

It’s already breaking records. When Rockstar Games dropped GTA VI’s first trailer back in December, it smashed past MrBeast’s record for the most video views achieved in a 24-hour period.

Heck, even Rockstar’s tweet announcing when the trailer would drop quickly became the most liked gaming-related tweet ever on social media platform X.

While it’s relatively simple to come to the conclusion that Grand Theft Auto VI is an important release, it’s well worth listening to the experts to assess just how important this moment is for the games industry.

You might have missed something … Take a look at GTA VI’s trailer (again) below.

In an interview with GamesIndustry.biz, Circana analyst Mat Piscatella referred to GTA VI as the most important thing “to ever release in the industry”.

Piscatella explained that 2024 could be a “painful” follow-up to 2023 given that that was such a landmark year mixed with the fact that 2024’s release slate remains very much uncertain for Q3 and Q4.

“If you look towards 2025, if interest rates come down and money becomes a little bit more free-flowing to devs and pubs, we should get a boost in the development cycle again," Piscatella said.

GTA VI, Death Stranding 2: On The Beach, Pokémon Legends: Z-A, Monster Hunter Wilds, and Instinction are just a few of the promising major titles set to land in 2025.

He continued, “We're going to get a renewed batch of interest with GTA VI in particular. There's probably never been a more important thing to ever release in the industry, so no pressure."

As reported by GamesRadar, Piscatella previously added that this year would see publishers and developers merely trying to “survive”.

It’s a bleak outlook but you can totally see why Piscatella would issue such a warning.

The industry is experiencing mass layoffs. Games are being cancelled left, right, and centre. It’s both a sad and unfortunate picture.

We do know that Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, Star Wars Outlaws, Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater, and Silent Hill 2 are all due to drop later this year.

It’s GTA VI though that feels like the industry’s next major runaway financial hit.