GTA 6 delay will cause 700,000 fewer PS5 and Xbox Series console sales, analysts claim

The news about GTA 6’s delay was not just disappointing for eagerly waiting fans, but a blow to the gaming industry as a whole. It caused other developers to rethink their release strategies and now, analysts claim that fewer PS and Xbox consoles will be sold this year. A data firm has estimated that around 700,000 fewer units of PS5 and Xbox Series consoles will be sold this year because of the game’s delay. 

The estimate comes from Ampere Analysis (via The Game Business) and its analyst Piers Harding-Rolls. They claim that GTA 6 being pushed back to May 2026 will cause a significant dip in PS5 and Xbox Series X/ Series S sales this year. Not just that, PlayStation and Xbox game sales will also drop by 21 million units. Ampere believes that the console industry will experience a $2.7 billion revenue loss this year. 

The firm adds that the GTA 6 delay will boost sales of the Nintendo Switch 2 this Christmas. Since people will be likely steering away from the PS5 or the Xbox Series consoles, they will be driven towards the Switch 2, which is typically seen as a second device for PS5 owners. “In our consumer data, Switch is often seen as a second device for owners of PlayStation 5. The overlap is quite significant. They are in the same competitive sphere, even if the content is not exactly the same,” Harding-Rolls reportedly said. 

Shortly after the delay announcement, it was reported that Take-Two Interactive’s shares dropped 15% and the CEO put out a statement reassuring shareholders. The game did get a second trailer which quickly became the most viewed video on various platforms, suggesting that the hype around the game is still consistent. Meanwhile, a former Rockstar developer claimed that there will likely not be any more delays to GTA 6, but a recent Bloomberg report claimed that another delay is entirely likely.