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Grand Theft Auto 6 has received another accolade, albeit a bit awkwardly.
The Game Awards made this announcement on Twitter:
@RockstarGames Congrats again on your Most Anticipated Game nomination! #TheGameAwards
Only 1 week left to vote, so vote now!
An Awkward Accolade
As some fans have conveniently commemorated, Grand Theft Auto 6 already won the TGA’s Most Anticipated Game award last year.
On one end, we can tell that Rockstar is highly likely to win this award again. We don’t know what precedents there are for winning the same award two years in a row, but it might set it.
The flip side, of course, is that this award also commemorates that the game has been delayed. Even before the second delay, we already knew months ago that it wasn’t coming out this year as originally planned.
Could This Backfire On Rockstar?
In a general sense, Grand Theft Auto, like God of War, Call of Duty, and Pokémon, are immune from criticism. They have fans who will buy and play these games no matter what.
But it is still possible to harm Rockstar’s and Grand Theft Auto 6’s reputation. If the TGAs decides to award what will clearly be the most popular choice, it could still lead to some outcry.
And we can already see the Doritos Pope taking some of that criticism themselves, but some fans are already unhappy with Rockstar and Take-Two over these delays.
Ultimately, Rockstar Should Not Care
Of course, contrary to how some fans think, the TGAs is not the be-all and end-all of the industry. Game developers are better off making a game that sells millions of units than one that sweeps the awards shows like this one.
Unfortunately, this is not a hypothetical. We know very well that Alan Wake 2’s critical acclaim in The Game Awards and other awards shows in 2023 did not match with how many units it actually sold.
We think Rockstar and Take-Two will take whatever reputational hit they get if they do win this award and just run with it. Whatever happens at this or other awards shows, their focus should be on delivering the game.
At least, Take-Two should plan their marketing to keep the fans engaged. Their marketing team does have the very tough job of managing negative sentiment until it’s ready to release.
If they play all of their cards right, Grand Theft Auto 6 should sweep The Game Awards the next time.
