The delay of GTA 6 could significantly alter the landscape of the gaming industry, especially among publishers of major projects. While Sean Murray from Hello Games noted that many studios are rushing to release their projects sooner, John Buckley, Communications Director at Pocketpair, the studio behind Palworld, offered a different perspective.
"Some industry insider info for all you gamers: Launching Nov 19th takes the game out of the window for most game awards nominations in 2026. Intentional or…? Either way expect a lot of games (especially AAA) to slip schedules to avoid the 2027 awards season," he wrote on X.
This refers to The Game Awards, where the list of nominees is traditionally announced in mid-November, and the ceremony takes place in December. However, other publications will still be able to include GTA 6 in their awards.
That being said, most publishers are unlikely to consider awards when planning releases. An example is Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, which was released a few days before last year's ceremony. So even if GTA 6 sweeps all the awards in 2027, other studios will likely survive it just fine if their games sell well.
