Unless you're the oldest video game company in the world, Grand Theft Auto VI is big enough that you have no choice but to move out of its way and this isn't just hyperbole or an exaggeration. A sweeping Bloomberg feature on the game's development lays out the sheer scale of the next Grand Theft Auto and, honestly, from this perspective, it's hard to believe that this is what GTA has become.
For starters, did you know that a GTA 6 gameplay premiere on Netflix beat a new Robert De Niro film to become the platform's most-watched content the week it arrived?
That premiere was the GTA 6 Extended Look that topped Netflix, a video game beating Hollywood on a service built for film and TV. It followed a first trailer that drew close to 300 million views on YouTube, shattering records and a second trailer that was just as successful after dropping out of nowhere. Before most people have played a second of it, GTA 6 is already one of the most-watched things on the internet.
It's so popular that other companies have planned around it for years, with some celebrating the initial delays. Rockstar Games rivals have delayed their own releases out of the launch window, Bloomberg reported, because they know GTA 6 will take the planet's attention for most of November. The joke has reached pro sports. NBA player Steven Adams said "performance is going to go down" across major leagues once the game is out. When athletes are bracing for a video game, it is a different kind of release.
How GTA 6 is bending the rest of entertainment
Who | The GTA 6 effect |
|---|---|
Netflix | A GTA 6 gameplay premiere beat a new Robert De Niro film as the most-watched content that week |
YouTube | The first trailer drew close to 300 million views, shattering records |
Rival studios | Delayed their own releases out of November to avoid the launch |
Pro sports | NBA's Steven Adams joked "performance is going to go down" when it drops |
The industry | Arrives amid mass layoffs since 2023 and rising hardware prices |
One game and the rest of entertainment is rearranging itself around it.
_GTA 6 arrives at a moment the video game industry badly needs a win. Outside of Rockstar, nearly everyone is not in a good place. Budgets are swelling, sales are stagnating, console prices are rising near the end of their lifecycles and tens of thousands of developers have found themselves without a job since 2023, including at GTA 6 owner Take-Two Interactive, Bloomberg noted. An AI-driven chip shortage has pushed hardware prices up too, which is part of why, as we've already mentioned, a new console now costs as much as it does.
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When you consider that into that slump drops a release widely expected to print money, it's easy to see why so much hope is being pinned on GTA 6 to turn things around.
So the pressure is not only on Rockstar. A lot of the industry is hoping GTA 6 can pull players back, lift spending and prove big-budget games can still pay off. It's a heavy load to carry for one title, even if it's GTA although it's not like it hasn't done something similar albeit on a similar scale before. GTA has battled critics, proven doubters wrong and saved studios since Grand Theft Auto III. This is just another day at Rockstar's office.
With that said, we will find out exactly how it carries the immense weight on its shoulders when GTA 6 arrives on November 19. For now, the rest of entertainment is doing the sensible thing and getting out of the way.