‘Of Course Development of the Next GTA Is Falling Behind. It Always Is.’ Jason Schreier Comments on Chaos Surrounding Game’s Release
Rumors about the delay of GTA 6 have hit Take-Two Interactive's stock price hard. In reality, however, delays are something usual and frequent in this industry. Investors should be used to them by now.
A few days ago, great emotions arose from rumors suggesting that work on Grand Theft Auto VI is proceeding more slowly than expected, and the game's release may be postponed until 2026. Although these reports were denied, they still harmed the owner of Rockstar Games studio, namely Take-Two company.
- Everything started with an article on Kotaku, in which the possibility of postponing the premiere was suggested.
- Shortly after, Mike Straw from the Insider-Gaming portal denied the information, after confirming with several people associated with GTA VI that work on the game was progressing as planned.
- Still, the mere suspicion of a possible delay sent Take-Two Interactive stock prices down 5.2%.
Jason Schreier, in an article for Bloomberg, pointed to all this as an example of the fact that the stock exchange often doesn't rationally approach the gaming market. Many investors responded with panic to the rumor of a potential delay of GTA 6, as if they were unaware of how the industry operates, where delays aren't uncommon and usually don't have a significant impact on the game's results when it is finally released.
As Schreier explains, developing AAA games is currently an extremely complicated process. GTA IV involves the work of thousands of people, and a small delay in one production department can lead to interruptions in others. Some disorder in production is an inevitable aspect of the industry and doesn't bother anyone working at Rockstar Games.
As Schreier stated:
This week, I asked a few other people at the company what they made of the rumor mill and was mostly met with shrugs. Of course development of the next Grand Theft Auto is falling behind. It always is.
In the case of Grand Theft Auto VI, an additional issue may arise due to the recently announced mandate for developers to return to full-time office work. There's concern that some experienced developers may choose to leave Rockstar Games studio rather than give up remote work.
