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Tom Henderson shared some interesting insight about what Grand Theft Auto 6’s delay is costing Take-Two Interactive and Rockstar Games.
He said this in the latest episode of Insider Gaming (edited for clarity):
I got a number from a developer on this, and they think that this is going to cost to $10 million a month extra now. So, we’re talking an extra 60 million.
…So this this delay is probably another $ 50-60 million, $10 million a month just in development costs. And then you got to put you know whatever else on top of it. So I would imagine you’re close to 100 million or whatever it may be.
Which is only another 1.5 million copies they need to sell. You know, it’s fine, right? Or one million copies if it’s $100 as everyone keeps saying.
Why Is Take-Two Willing To Eat $ 60 Million In Costs?
Take-Two, like other video game publishers, are looking at the example of CD Projekt RED and Cyberpunk 2077. Other publishers have released newer duds, such as PlayStation Studios’ Concord and WB Games’ Suicide Squad: Kill The Justice League.
But there’s a specific lesson to learn from Cyberpunk 2077. The game went through the same cycle many other AAAs went through over the past decade.
The game was taking too long to make, and CD Projekt RED wanted to reach their announced release date. So management made the studio crunch to get the game out on time.
This idea backfired, because the game launched broken on all platforms. Even worse, the studio realized they couldn’t actually do the game justice on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.
Everything went wrong for CD Projekt RED as a result. Beyond the embarrassment, they lost money from the launch anyway and destroyed their relationship with loyal fans.
Did Take-Two Already Make This Mistake With Borderlands 4?
Maybe Take-Two learned this lesson from another game, that they published themselves. Borderlands 4 received good reviews and had decent launch sales.
However, it also launched with performance issues on all platforms. Subsequently, Take-Two reported that the game sold below expectations.
Take-Two did not have harsh words for Gearbox, saying that they hoped sales would do better later. They did delay the Switch 2 version, which could be the new opportunity for the game to bounce back.
But Take-Two may have felt the pangs of sales they could have made if they launched the game right the first time. They definitely don’t want to take chances like that with their trued bread and butter, Grand Theft Auto.
