Following the news that Rockstar Games delayed the 2025 release date for GTA 6 and pushed it back to May 26, 2026, we finally got a second trailer that gave fans a closer look at the game’s graphics, characters, and a bit more of the storyline. Before this, Rockstar had been quiet, and publishers were hesitant to set release dates for their games, worried that GTA 6 would dominate players’ time and money.

The looming presence of GTA 6 wasn't just a concern for indie developers afraid their passion projects might be overshadowed, but also had video game giant EA a little nervous, as after confirming its plans to revive Battlefield, CEO Andrew Wilson was worried they might be forced into delaying the “biggest ever” Battlefield.

Andrew Wilson is relieved GTA 6 is launching later than expected

Andrew Wilson gave a speech during the company's 2024 Q4 earnings call, where he expressed satisfaction with EA's performance, stating that it had “reignited momentum.” He highlighted the growing interest in the company's sports titles, The Sims achieving double-digit year-over-year growth, and Split Fiction selling twice as much as expected, with 4 million copies as key examples of that progress.

However, during the Q&A portion of the call, when asked whether GTA 6's delay to May 2026 had any impact on the company's plans, Andrew didn't explicitly mention the game by name but was relieved to hear about the delay:

“I'm not sure I can comment on the rest of the industry and their launches or launch timing, other than to say typically today, games take many years to build and develop, and it's unlikely that if you weren't already ready to launch in this window, it may be hard to get ready and take advantage of what might be otherwise a less competitive window that we may have anticipated earlier relative to Battlefield.

What we've said all along as we've been building towards a window that we thought made the most most sense of Battlefield, but we wouldn't launch into a window that we thought truncated the value that we've invested into the franchise, or the value that we think our players will derive from it once they jump in and start playing. I think now, without going too far, we believe that window is clearer than it was before, and we feel very good about launching Battlefield.”

EA CEO Andrew Wilson via Venturebeat

Phrases like “truncate the value that is invested” in Battlefield make it pretty clear that even a giant like EA seems nervous about Rockstar's biggest addition to the GTA lineup, especially now it says the “window is clearer than it was before”. That said, GTA VI is now officially set to launch on May 26, 2026, and this time the date looks solid. However, it won't be coming to PC at launch, as the trailer confirms only the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S will be supported initially.

About the Author

Hassam Nasir

Hassam boasts over seven years of professional experience as a dedicated PC hardware reviewer and writer.