Ever since the delay of GTA 6 by Rockstar Games, we’ve seen plenty of “unique takes” as to what happened, why it happened, and what will happen next. There are many players who are hoping things change for the better and that there are no more delays with the title. Others are on the other side of the equation, wondering when the NEXT delay will be announced, ensuring that the title doesn’t come out until 2027. There are plenty of rumors about what people think “the true cause” of the delay was, and then, there are those who think that Rockstar did the delay…just because they could.
No, really, that’s one take on things. In a chat with GamesRadar+, NYU professor and games industry researcher Joost van Dreunen said the following on the matter:
“Take-Two’s strong quarterly results, bolstered by Zynga’s turnaround and 2K’s solid year, give it breathing room. Even after an 8 percent stock dip on the news, Wall Street raised price targets, signaling confidence that GTA 6 will deliver its projected $2.7 billion launch windfall. Rockstar delaying GTA 6 is a flex. The studio knows that anticipation is its most valuable currency, and it’s making the most of it. Historically, every major GTA entry has slipped at least once, and each time the end result justified the wait.”
He went on to note that this is also a shot at the gaming industry as a whole, feeling that this is proof that Rockstar Games and Take-Two Interactive know what they’re doing and are willing to take the time to do things the right way…versus what many others in the industry do:
“In an era of rushed live-service fatigue, Rockstar’s commitment to ‘finished games’ is both retro and radical—and that’s exactly why GTA 6 will matter far beyond its release date.”
On the one hand, he’s not wrong that things are going badly with other developers and publishers because they choose to rush out games and “hope to fix them later” instead of having them ready in the proper form at launch. However, saying it’s “retro and radical” is a bit much, as there is another who does this with many of its major releases, including a recent major console release, and that’s Nintendo. They’ve delayed many titles over the years in the name of quality, and it worked out well for them.
Regardless, it does show the “respect” that Rockstar has gotten outside of the industry that someone like this researcher would say such a thing on their behalf.
