The action did not take place in GTA VI, this time, but at Wall Street.
DR
The announcement of the postponement of the release of the video game “Grand Theft Auto VI” on May 26, 2026 plunged the course of the American group Take-Two Interactive, the parent’s parent company, Rockstar Games.
Wall Street sanctioned Take-Two after its Friday announcement. Around 6:10 p.m. Swiss time, the title abandoned 6.12%. “The action should not fall as much,” reacted to AFP Michael Pachter, Wedbush Securities analyst, “but people wonder if there will be no other postpones.”
“Disappointing but not disastrous”
“This shift from six to seven months for GTA VI is a disappointment but is not disastrous,” abounded, in a note, Eric Handler, of the Roth investment bank. “This does not change our vision of the expected quality of the game and our sales forecasts” of “GTA VI”.
Beyond Rockstar Games, the whole industry had been riveted on this launch, while the sector has experienced growth for two years.
A blow for this growth industry, Sony and Microsoft have announced, in recent weeks, price increases from the PS5 and Xbox, in response to customs duties imposed by the United States on China, where they produce most of these consoles.
A loser, but winners
The delay in which Rockstar Games reported on Friday benefited the competitor of Take-Two Electronic Arts (EA), whose title leapped by 3.37%, as well as to Roblox (+6.14%) and in Microsoft (+2.82%), which became a giant in the sector with the buyout of Activision Blizzard, late 2023.
“EA is the best placed to benefit” from this postponement, considers Mike Hickey, Benchmark analyst.
The new version of the first -person shooting game “Battlefield”, announced by EA, before spring 2026, “will have less competition” when it was launched, anticipates Michael Pachter.
“GTA VI had to be offered exclusively for console at the start of the end of year holidays and therefore promised to be an engine for Xbox and PlayStation sales, which would have been favorable to Microsoft and Sony and positive for other game publishers on this support,” commented Mathew Ball, pattern of the EPYLLION consulting firm.
But an outing in November would also have “cannibalized the other games” and penalized their publishers, he added.
(AFP)
