Amid mass layoffs, studio closures, and high-profile triple-A flops, the video game industry is currently suffering one of the worst periods in its history. Revenue wise, it’s also struggling. According to U.S. sales data tracking firm Circana, 2024 game spending is set to end up down 2% — and that’s the most optimistic outlook.
Explaining Microsoft’s shock mass layoff that affected nearly 2,000 staff at its gaming business, Xbox boss Phil Spencer said the industry had failed to grow the gaming audience in recent years, especially on console. But there is one bright spark looming over the horizon: Grand Theft Auto 6.
In an interview with GI.biz, Circana analyst Mat Piscatella said Rockstar’s surefire hit will spark “renewed interest” in video games, before going one step further: “There's probably never been a more important thing to ever release in the industry, so no pressure.”
Clearly there’s a huge amount riding on GTA 6, and not just for developer Rockstar and its owner, Take-Two. This is a game some analysts predict will end up as the best-selling of all-time, the kind of game to break entertainment records. In 2013, it took GTA 5 just three days to surpass $1 billion in sales, becoming the fastest to that figure in entertainment history. GTA 6 could hit $1 billion in 24 hours.
All that money flooding into video game retail will obviously boost the bottom line of any company that stands to benefit from the sale of video games and accessories, from Amazon to GameStop, and of course Microsoft and Sony, which sells games via its digital stores. When GTA 6 eventually comes out at some point in 2025, there will be a lot of companies fighting for their cut.
But there’s more. GTA 6 is the kind of game that will sell consoles. Sony is expected to release a PS5 Pro later this year, and it will no doubt benefit from interest in GTA 6. Similarly, GTA 6 will sell Xbox Series X and S and whatever hardware refresh Microsoft plans. Let’s remember, GTA 6 is not coming out on PC at launch. To play the game, you have to own a PlayStation or an Xbox.
Beyond the point of sale, GTA 6’s GTA Online equivalent will surely come packed with microtransactions as the current GTA Online does. Microsoft and Sony will get their cut of any money spent there, too.
Is GTA 6 the most important release in games history, as has been suggested? Mass layoffs continue to decimate the video game industry, so it very well may be. But let’s remember the people who are working to make GTA 6 a reality, and the issues they’re facing as the industry holds its breath for their game to come out. Last month, developers at Rockstar Games hit out at the company’s decision to force staff to return to the office five days a week to close out work on GTA 6, with some expressing concern about crunch.
For years, Rockstar had a notorious reputation within the video game industry for brutal crunch in the making of Grand Theft Auto and Red Dead games. However, following the release of Red Dead Redemption 2 in 2018 and the shocking stories about the human cost of its development, media reports suggested changes were made to the company’s culture to avoid the same thing happening during the development of GTA 6.
Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.
