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It is understood that Sony and Microsoft are working on new console platforms–the PS6 and next Xbox–but when might they be released? According to Piers Harding-Rolls, the research director for games at Ampere Analysis, these new consoles could launch later than expected due to the GTA 6 delay. This could happen, but it’s not what Ampere expects.
He told GI.biz that the delay of GTA 6 will have a “significant impact on console sales dynamics in 2026.” This is because, with GTA 6 now coming in November 2026 instead of May 2026, console sales will be “even more back-loaded” than normal. How does the GTA 6 delay impact the next-generation console release dates? Harding-Rolls said his company is modeling the new systems to launch in late 2027, but that could change if the platform-holders want to squeeze more juice out of GTA 6.
“Might the console companies be tempted to get more from the current console generation by riding the GTA 6 wave and waiting until 2028? The fact that games are now cross-gen makes this less of a factor, perhaps, but such is the size of the GTA franchise, the launch timing will get all areas of the games business thinking about their product strategies,” he explained.
Harding-Rolls went on to say that GTA 6 is going to be “such an important driver of hardware sales,” and not just when the game comes out, but for multiple years to follow. “Sony and Microsoft will have wanted a much earlier release than late 2026 so they could generate momentum earlier in the cycle,” he said.
One of the reasons that GTA 5 sold so well was because the game launched later in the PS3 and Xbox 360 lifecycles, coming multiple years after those consoles arrived. This meant that the install base of those machines was big at the time, and then Rockstar re-released GTA 5 for PS4 and Xbox One when those consoles came out in 2014. Then Rockstar put the game on PC in 2015 and then brought it to PS5 and Xbox Series X|S in 2022.
GAMING NEWS What do we know about the PS6 and next Xbox?
Both Sony and Microsoft have confirmed that they are working on new consoles, but neither has been officially announced. Sony, for its part, recently showed off some new experimental technology that could power its next console. Microsoft, meanwhile, announced a partnership with AMD earlier this year for future platforms. Rumors have swirled recently that Microsoft could quit the console business, but the company says that’s not true.
For now, GTA 6 is confirmed only for PS5 and Xbox Series X|S, but if Rockstar follows a similar playbook to GTA 5, fans can expect it to come to PC later and possibly new consoles.
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