Ghost of Yotei exec expresses relief saying it 'was a great day' when GTA VI was delayed to 2026

It seems that the gaming industry has collectively heaved a sigh of relief, knowing Rockstar Games’ highly anticipated title, GTA VI, has been delayed to May 2026, meaning most games would avoid direct competition with the video games industry’s biggest launches this decade. And the same is true for Ghost of Yotei’s Sucker Punch Productions, which celebrated Rockstar’s delay.

Sucker Punch’s creative director, Nate Fox, recently spoke in a rapid-fire interview with MinnMax, and he didn’t hold back when he was asked about the studio’s reaction to Grand Theft Auto VI’s delay. The interviewer asked Nate, “When GTA VI was delayed into 2026, did the entire studio just like pop some champagne?”

Nate smiled and responded with a candid, humorous statement, “We’re all still hungover. Multi-month hangover. That was a great day.” It’s not hard to grasp the immense pressure studios like Sucker Punch face when launching games near release windows for juggernauts like the Grand Theft Auto franchise. Analysts predict that the game could easily generate $7.6 billion in its first two months alone.

The hype for the latter can be quantified, as Grand Theft Auto VI Trailer 1 dropped nearly a year ago and has raked in 265 million views, with Trailer 2 garnering 130 million views after it dropped four months ago.

As for Ghost of Yotei, the game is scheduled to launch exclusively on the PlayStation 5 on October 2, 2025, a sequel to Ghost of Tsushima, which sold 10 million copies on its second anniversary in July 2022 and over 13 million copies as of September 2024.

The game skips time to 17th-century Japan and centers around a new protagonist, Atsu. Sucker Punch has confirmed that Ghost of Yotei has “gone gold,” meaning the game’s development is complete and is preparing for its upcoming release.

The relief felt by Sucker Punch Productions isn’t unique to the studio, as many industry insiders have described Grand Theft Auto VI as a “black cloud that looms over everything.” Other studios, including those behind The Outer Worlds 2, also jokingly expressed relief over securing a release date free of Rockstar’s titan.

However, developers aiming for a 2026 summer release will have to pose some serious competition as Take-Two Interactive’s CEO, Strauss Zelnick, expressed “very, very, high” confidence that Grand Theft Auto VI will meet its new release date.