If there’s a substantial winner after Grand Theft Auto 6 was delayed from May 26, 2026 to November 19, 2026, it’s 007 First Light.
Last September, IO Interactive, the Danish developer of the Hitman games, slapped the smack on James Bond action-adventure game 007 First Light with a release date of March 27, 2026 – just two months before the launch of GTA 6, before Rockstar announced its postponement to November.
Two months is, under normal circumstances, enough space for two video games to breathe, but we’re talking about GTA 6. It looks set to become not only the biggest video game launch of all time, but also the biggest… All premiere of all time. One could imagine a situation where the broader gaming audience could save their hard-earned cash for GTA 6 even if they like the look of the promising 007 First Light – especially with speculation that Rockstar could pay upwards of $70 for it.
So two months was certainly enough for 007 to be caught in the gravitational pull of giant Rockstar, which is sure to have a huge impact on the video game space. Even James Bond in a souped-up Aston Martin would have little chance of breaking free.
And it seems that the developers at IO Interactive knew this all too well. In an interview with GamesIndustry.bizCEO Hakan Abrak was asked if GTA 6 had kindly moved out of the way of 007.
“It would be a lie not to say that spring is looking really good,” he replied. “I want to say in one breath that GTA 6 is a welcome thing in the industry. I believe that many gamers who may not have played for a while will start playing it again and for the industry in general, I think it will be amazing.”
Abraka’s comments about GTA 6’s positive impact echo the words of Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick, who suggested that releasing the game on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X and S (sorry, PC gamers, no launch for you… yet) will result in an escalate in console sales. GTA 6 has the power to no doubt convince an entire army of gamers to finally upgrade from their PlayStation 4 or Xbox One to the current generation, or push PC gamers to their limits so they can enjoy the fun on launch day.
And let’s not forget the Star Wars movie The Mandalorian and Grogu, which was scheduled to release the same week as GTA 6. Yes, GTA 6 will likely hit all forms of entertainment tough as the world dives into the next iteration of Vice City. Cursed be the Power.
But while there are winners in all this, there are also losers – something we at IGN took a look at after the delay of GTA 6. Microsoft has a lot of games coming out next year that could hit GTA 6 tough, like the next Fable, Halo: Campaign Evolved, Gears of War E-Day, and even 2026’s Call of Duty. But Sony is probably nervous at the thought that the PlayStation 5 exclusive Marvel’s Wolverine will also be absorbed into the GTA 6 effect.
All the while, James Bond himself was drinking a celebratory vodka martini, “shaken, not stirred,” of course. With GTA 6 at your fingertips, a world-famous secret agent has a clear path to success.
Wesley is the news director at IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. Wesley can be reached at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.
