This Analyst Expects Grand Theft Auto 6 Will Make Console Players Upgrade To PS5/Xbox Series X|S

The industry seems to be pinning their hopes on Grand Theft Auto 6.

As reported by RockstarIntel, Newzoo expects the game will:

-lead to an increased upgrade rate for the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S among existing players and lapsed gamers waiting for a reason to buy a new device and return.

The Poor Situation Of The Video Game Industry

Newzoo is making some big bluffs with this prediction. But what they’re reporting with their data is not favorable for the industry overall.

They revealed that consoles were the slowest growing platform for 2025. There is growth, but at a rate of 2.5 %, it’s considerably slower compared to PCs and mobile.

Newzoo also believes that this trend will continue in 2026.

What About Nintendo Switch 2?

We have seen how record-breaking Nintendo’s latest console has been so far. It has sold over 6 million units around the world, and over 2 million units in the US by itself.

Newzoo expects the Switch 2 to be one of the main drivers for growth in game consoles. However, Nintendo’s success seems to be isolated to Nintendo for now.

That’s because Nintendo chose to limit the supply of Switch 2 dev kits for third parties. We’ve reported a lot of rumors about this, and no one really knows why Nintendo made this choice.

The upside to bringing games to the Switch 2 will be huge in the future. With how fast it’s selling, it’s also expected to have a seriously large player base willing to spend.

But until the Switch 2 player base increases and the console is opened up to other developers, the console’s success won’t grow the industry that much.

What Grand Theft Auto 6 Is Expected To Do

Newzoo believes major releases sits alongside the Switch 2 as one of the big revenue drivers of 2026.  Principal Market Analyst Michiel Buijsman believes Grand Theft Auto 6  in particular will be ‘reshaping the competitive landscape’ for PCs and consoles.

And we can’t ignore that Grand Theft Auto 6 is coming to consoles first. While we know that it won’t be coming to the Switch 2 (for now), it is clear that this is the rare game that’s worth upgrading your console for.

Grand Theft Auto 6’s potential success could come at the expense of other games, particularly any AAA and AA games releasing at the same launch window. But if it makes all the last holdouts upgrade to PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S, that will be enough to increase business for the industry as a whole.