Amid mass layoffs, studio closures, and high-profile triple-A flops, the online game trade is at the moment struggling one of many worst durations in its historical past. Income smart, it’s additionally struggling. In response to U.S. gross sales knowledge monitoring agency Circana, 2024 sport spending is ready to finish up down 2% — and that’s essentially the most optimistic outlook.
Explaining Microsoft’s shock mass layoff that affected practically 2,000 employees at its gaming enterprise, Xbox boss Phil Spencer stated the trade had did not develop the gaming viewers in recent times, particularly on console. However there’s one shiny spark looming over the horizon: Grand Theft Auto 6.
In an interview with GI.biz, Circana analyst Mat Piscatella stated Rockstar’s surefire hit will spark “renewed curiosity” in video video games, earlier than going one step additional: “There’s in all probability by no means been a extra vital factor to ever launch within the trade, so no strain.”
Clearly there’s an enormous quantity driving on GTA 6, and never only for developer Rockstar and its proprietor, Take-Two. It is a sport some analysts predict will find yourself because the best-selling of all-time, the form of sport to interrupt leisure information. In 2013, it took GTA 5 simply three days to surpass $1 billion in gross sales, turning into the quickest to that determine in leisure historical past. GTA 6 might hit $1 billion in 24 hours.
All that cash flooding into online game retail will clearly increase the underside line of any firm that stands to profit from the sale of video video games and equipment, from Amazon to GameStop, and naturally Microsoft and Sony, which sells video games through its digital shops. When GTA 6 finally comes out in some unspecified time in the future in 2025, there will probably be a number of firms preventing for his or her lower.
However there’s extra. GTA 6 is the form of sport that may promote consoles. Sony is predicted to launch a PS5 Professional later this yr, and it’ll little doubt profit from curiosity in GTA 6. Equally, GTA 6 will promote Xbox Collection X and S and no matter {hardware} refresh Microsoft plans. Let’s keep in mind, GTA 6 isn’t popping out on PC at launch. To play the sport, it’s important to personal a PlayStation or an Xbox.
Past the purpose of sale, GTA 6’s GTA On-line equal will certainly come full of microtransactions as the present GTA On-line does. Microsoft and Sony will get their lower of any cash spent there, too.
Is GTA 6 crucial launch in video games historical past, as has been steered? Mass layoffs proceed to decimate the online game trade, so it very properly could also be. However let’s keep in mind the people who find themselves working to make GTA 6 a actuality, and the problems they’re going through because the trade holds its breath for his or her sport to come back out. Final month, builders at Rockstar Video games hit out on the firm’s determination to drive employees to return to the workplace 5 days per week to shut out work on GTA 6, with some expressing concern about crunch.
For years, Rockstar had a infamous status throughout the online game trade for brutal crunch within the making of Grand Theft Auto and Purple Lifeless video games. Nevertheless, following the discharge of Purple Lifeless Redemption 2 in 2018 and the surprising tales concerning the human price of its growth, media studies steered modifications have been made to the corporate’s tradition to keep away from the identical factor occurring in the course of the growth of GTA 6.
Wesley is the UK Information Editor for IGN. Discover him on Twitter at @wyp100. You may attain Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.