PARIS, June 7 \u2014 Video game publishers are reshuffling release schedules to avoid getting run over by feverishly anticipated Grand Theft Auto VI, as a crowded autumn line-up takes shape, industry players said at an annual gaming event Friday.<\/p>\n
The Summer Games Fest in Los Angeles highlighted dozens of upcoming titles while underscoring the market impact of Rockstar Games\u2019 next instalment, due on November 19 after two delays.<\/p>\n
GTA VI is the eighth main entry in the blockbuster franchise, and set to arrive more than 13 years after GTA V, the second best-selling video game in history.<\/p>\n
Publishers are steering clear of the final months of 2026, traditionally a peak sales period, to avoid competing with what is expected to be the year\u2019s dominant product\u2014and potentially the biggest entertainment launch of all time.<\/p>\n
Titles including Wolverine, Silent Hill: Townfall\u00a0and Ace Combat 8: Wings of Theve\u00a0are among more than a dozen major games expected in September, while Star Wars Zero Company\u00a0is set for August 27.<\/p>\n
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4\u00a0will launch on October 23, just weeks before GTA VI\u2014a slot widely seen as the outer limit for avoiding direct competition.<\/p>\n
That window is \u201cfrequently cited as the latest you can release a game and not get sucked into that Rockstar black hole\u201d, said Christopher Dring, founder of specialist outlet The Game Business.<\/p>\n
GTA VI will be the \u201cbiggest premium release which will gather huge amount of attention and engagement that will likely last until at least the new year\u201d, consultancy firm Ampere Analysis said in a report.<\/p>\n
The Summer Games Fest, hosted by Geoff Keighley after conferences led by Sony and ahead of Microsoft\u2019s showcase, unveiled several major titles on Friday, including Final Fantasy VII Revelation, due in spring 2027.<\/p>\n
A remake of Resident Evil: Code Veronica, first released in 2000, is also slated for 2027, titled Resident Evil Veronica, reflecting the industry\u2019s continued reliance on established franchises.<\/p>\n
Beyond release schedules, the event showcased new projects, including\u00a01666 Amsterdam\u00a0by Assassin\u2019s Creed creator Patrice Desilets and Gen Atlas from Japanese designer Fumito Ueda. \u2014 AFP<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"PARIS, June 7 \u2014 Video game publishers are reshuffling release schedules to avoid getting run over by feverishly…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":464733,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[235471,235470,67619,81184,111,139,69,59207,235469,145],"class_list":["post-464732","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-technology","tag-christopher-dring","tag-geoff-keighley","tag-grand-theft-auto","tag-gta-vi","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-nz","tag-rockstar-games","tag-summer-games-fest","tag-technology"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/464732","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=464732"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/464732\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/464733"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=464732"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=464732"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=464732"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}