By Zaheer Kachwala
(Reuters) -Repeated delays of "Grand Theft Auto VI" have failed to perturb analysts, who believe the new release window will allow Take-Two Interactive to make a bigger splash when it launches the videogame industry's highly anticipated title next year.
The videogame publisher pushed the title to November 19 next year from its earlier release date of May 26, marking a second public delay for the videogame and sending the company's shares 5% lower in premarket trading on Friday.
The
delay left fans and investors disappointed, but analysts believe it positions "GTA VI" to benefit from the holiday-season surge in spending, with the game expected to rake in billions of dollars within the first few weeks of release.
"Releasing it closer to the holiday season allows for more opportunities to bundle with the tail end of current-gen consoles, making it more valuable to Take-Two because of the marketing dollars the console makers will be willing to invest," said Joost van Dreunen, games professor at NYU's Stern School of Business.
The delay would also not lead to an overall cut in annual sales forecasts for Take-Two's upcoming financial years, as bookings projections would only get shifted around. Jefferies said the brokerage will "simply shift our estimates forward 2 quarters."
Delays have become commonplace in the videogame industry as studios grapple with rising development costs and high expectations from fans expecting a polished experience at launch.
"They (Take-Two) need the game to be great and more time makes that more likely," said Michael Pachter, managing director, strategic planning at Wedbush Securities.
Take-Two raised its fiscal 2026 bookings forecast, signaling its current roster of titles including "NBA 2K" and its mobile portfolio will be able to drive growth till the "GTA VI" release.
(Reporting by Zaheer Kachwala in Bengaluru; Editing by Leroy Leo)
