GTA 6 Delay Could be the Reason Behind Sluggish PlayStation Upgrades in 2025

GTA 6 has only been delayed twice, but its delay has created a big impact on the console business of companies like Sony. Sony’s latest financial results showcased that big hits of 2025 like Ghost of Yotei have not been able to give enough push to the company to overcome its hardware struggles. PlayStation 5 is still one of the most popular consoles in the market, but the company has reported that sales in its Game and Network services segment have decreased from $10.9bn in Q3 2024 to $10.5bn in Q3 2025, and the reason has behind is the drop in hardware sales (Based on data from Video Games Industry Memo).

However, Sony has reported an increase in overall operating income because of an increased income coming from subscription services like PlayStation Plus and first-party game software titles. Here one of the most important factors behind sluggish PlayStation Upgrades has been a delay in the release of the highly anticipated game, GTA 6.

How GTA 6 Delay has Impacted PlayStation Console Upgrades?

GTA 6 was initially set to release in the Fall of 2025, but the game was delayed to May 26, 2026 by Rockstar Games. After the new release announcement, Rockstar Games stayed silent for a few months, but then again after sometime they came out with another delay announcement, which shifted the release date of the game to November 2026. If GTA 6 would have released in Fall 2025, then Sony would have capitalized on factors like Holiday Season sales with GTA 6 release.

PS5 and Xbox Series X/S are the two officially supported consoles for GTA 6, and there are rumors from insiders like Jason Schreier that GTA 6 would be a likely PlayStation exclusive. He revealed that “PlayStation is the main platform for the game, it’s kind of like a PlayStation Exclusive, and I suspect Sony is planning an entire calendar around GTA. They will not release anything within the blast zone”. So, GTA 6 hype would have been enough reason for PlayStation 4 players to upgrade to a PS5 console, but Sony missed capitalizing on the opportunity because of a delay in release.

On January 20, 2026, Sony shared an on-screen notification with PS4 users, spotlighting upcoming PS5-optimized titles like Ghost of Yotei, ARC Raiders, SAROS, 007 First Light, and NieR 3. The message also shared a QR code for various console deals, and it aimed at pushing the customers to upgrade from a PlayStation 4 console to a PlayStation 5 console.

Will Rapidly Increasing RAM Prices Impact PS5 Pricing?

Video Games hardware manufactures like Sony and Microsoft are facing immense pressure from RAM shortage caused by the AI hype. Sony’s upcoming next-gen console PS6 has also reportedly been delayed because of Ram shortages. But during its recent financial earnings call, Sony has revealed that it will maintain a strategy of keeping PS5 price steady while the prices of subscription services like PS Plus might see a hike. CFO Lin Tao has stated that the company has secured the minimum RAM supply required to support PS5 production throughout 2026, and this reduces the risk of production disruption. Sony has very clearly referenced GTA 6 as one of the major catalysts that would bring a huge spike in PS5 console demand. So, GTA 6 release delay is supposedly one of the major reasons behind sluggish PlayStation upgrades in 2025.

Is Take-Two Impacted by GTA 6 Release Delay?

Take Two CEO, Strauss Zelnick has indicated many times that GTA 6 is one their most anticipated releases, and they have also used a strategy of refraining themselves from releasing other games like Mafia: The Old Country and Borderlands 4 near GTA 6 release in 2025. Take-Two shares took a hit when the first delay announcement for GTA 6 came from Rockstar Games, but eventually Take Two is really big and the companies net bookings grew 28% year-on-year to $1.76bn in the third quarter of 2026 fiscal year. Titles like Toon Blast Empires and Puzzles, NBA 2K26, and Grand Theft Auto Online are the major contributors to this success. So, they don’t have to worry too much about GTA 6 delay.

GTA 6 delay has impacted Sony PS5 sales and console upgrades, but once the game releases, PS5 sales will definitely see an increase. Sony knows this fact, and this is the reason why they have been using GTA 6 launch as a strategy to plan their entire release calendar.

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