2025 games that benefit from the delay of GTA VI

1 month ago 2

Well, it happened. To nobody’s surprise, Rockstar Games announced that they wouldn’t be meeting their 2025 release date for GTA VI. The game, which would have come out sometime later this year, is now scheduled for a May 2026 release.

While that’s definitely disappointing for the gaming community at large, that isn’t the case for some other developers. After all, they too have games coming out this year, and releasing them anywhere near GTA VI would’ve resulted in a massive lack of attention for their titles. With the 2025 calendar now free because the most anticipated entertainment product in history will now come next year, these games will finally have the attention they deserve.

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5 Borderlands 4 needs the free calendar to do its best

Anybody buying GTA VI wouldn’t have been a ‘real’ fan

Say what you will about the potential $80 price tag or the recent comments about said price tag, Borderlands 4 is still going to be one of 2025’s most-anticipated releases. Coming out in September 2025, this game was definitely going to be fighting for attention had GTA VI come out around the same time.

Considering the box office bomb that was the recent Borderlands movie, the franchise and the IP in general really needs all the attention and eyeballs it can get. Furthermore, video game prices are definitely increasing, and it’s becoming more common for gamers to ration their purchasing funds, prioritizing more preferable titles. Had GTA VI been on the cards for this year, there is no denying that, at the very least, a significant number of buyers would’ve gone for the Grand Theft Auto title instead of Borderlands 4 — myself included.

Borderlands 4

Released September 12, 2025

ESRB Rating Pending

Developer(s) Gearbox Software

Publisher(s) 2K

Engine Unreal Engine 5

Multiplayer Online Co-Op, Online Multiplayer

Cross-Platform Play Yes - all

Prequel(s) Borderlands 3, Borderlands 2, Borderlands

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4 Ghost of Yotei already has a lot riding on its shoulders

Console exclusivity for GTA VI could’ve meant fewer sales for Sucker Punch

2020’s Ghost of Tsushima from Sucker Punch studios is one of my favorite games of all time, and I’m certainly not alone. The near-perfect action-adventure title from Sony had fantastic visuals, great performances, memorable writing, and an unparalleled art style.

The sequel, Ghost of Yotei, already has gigantic shoes to fill, following in the footsteps of the first game. That kind of pressure is already significant, and the first-party Sony title definitely did not need Rockstar breathing down its neck, or GTA VI’s release hanging above its head, threatening to take away a huge number of its potential buyers. In fact, GTA VI would’ve come out on the PS5 and the Xbox Series X first, which means that PlayStation buyers would’ve almost certainly gone for GTA instead of Yotei. After all, despite how fantastic the game is looking to be, it would be tough to hold a candle to the next entrant in the GTA series, which is basically gaming royalty at this point.

Ghost of Yotei

Released October 2, 2025

Developer(s) Sucker Punch

Publisher(s) Sony Interactive Entertainment

Prequel(s) Ghost of Tsushima

Number of Players Single-player

PS5 Release Date October 2, 2025

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3 Dying Light: The Beast

All eyes on The Beast, please

Now, it is certainly safe to assume that, at the very least, most players would have purchased GTA VI over these games had they come out in the same month. However, Dying Light: The Beast is the one exception for yours truly. Having played the first Dying Light seven times over the course of nine years, three PCs, and one PS4 Slim, I screamed at the screen when The Beast was announced in August 2024. Kyle Crane is back in all his glory, and so is Roger Craig Smith.

Regardless, the game is set to come out sometime in Q3, since the second quarter of the year is almost done with no concrete date announced. With a Q3 release planned, Dying Light: The Beast would most certainly have been vying for sales, going up against the giant that the GTA VI release would’ve been. It’s safe to assume that the reason we haven’t had a release date yet is because the publishers were waiting for Rockstar’s move, which turned out to be a delay. As such, I don’t think it will be too long before we have a confirmed release date and the game in our libraries.

Dying Light: The Beast

ESRB M For Mature 17+ // Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Language, Use of Drugs

Developer(s) Techland

Publisher(s) Techland

Multiplayer Online Co-Op

Franchise Dying Light

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2 Double Dragon Revive would've been instantly forgotten

I still don't like its chances, but it's pre-ordered

You know what wouldn’t have survived a GTA VI release window? A nostalgic beat-em-up reboot trying to bring back the glory days of the arcade. Double Dragon 2 on the NES was one of the first games I ever played. My brother and I didn’t know how we hit the spinning kicks, but boy did we cheer for them.

Double Dragon Revive looks genuinely awesome — a faithful reimagining of the NES/arcade classic with flashy new visuals and the same side-scrolling chaos we grew up on. However, let’s be real — if this dropped anywhere near Rockstar’s next juggernaut, it would've been a total KO from round one itself.

Thankfully, the GTA VI delay gives this throwback brawler room to shine. Revive doesn’t need to compete with cinematic trailers or billion-dollar marketing campaigns — it just needs some space, a couple of controllers, and a weekend to hook players. With the 2025 calendar now GTA-free, I’m really hoping and praying for Double Dragon Revive getting the attention it deserves instead of being tossed aside like a stage-one goon.

Double Dragon Revive

Released October 22, 2025

ESRB Rating Pending

Engine Unreal Engine 5

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Konami needs all the attention it can get

Let’s be honest — Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater already had a lot riding on it. Not only is it a full-blown remake of one of the greatest games of all time, it also has Metal Gear Survive to apologize for. This is the closest thing to a proper, mainline Metal Gear game since Kojima left Konami a decade ago, and all of that together is a legacy grenade with the pin halfway out. Now, imagine trying to launch this emotional nostalgia bomb in the same month as GTA VI. Yeah, no thanks.

With the delay, this remake can finally breathe. It doesn’t have to claw for relevance against the loudest game launch in history. Instead, Delta can properly soak in the spotlight, and fans (like me) can cry in peace during Snake Eater’s iconic ladder climb without the distraction of GTA memes flooding the internet. Konami needs this win badly, and releasing Delta in a slightly quieter 2025 landscape is the best-case scenario. Whether you're a stealth junkie or a newcomer looking to see what the fuss is about, this game deserves your undivided attention — not whatever leftover time you can spare after carjacking in Leonida.

Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater

Released August 28, 2025

ESRB Mature 17+ // Blood, Sexual Themes, Violence

Developer(s) Konami

Publisher(s) Konami

Engine Unreal Engine 5

Prequel(s) Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty

Sequel(s) Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots

Franchise Metal Gear Solid

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For the next six months of this year, these games are going to breathe easier.

If I were a betting man, I would’ve perhaps put money on another delay for GTA VI, come May 2026. I hope it won’t happen, but all things considered, it’s a fair guess. Of course, this also means that there are a lot of games that would want to avoid a May 2026 release, at the very least.

Regardless, for the next six months of this year, there are definitely some games that are breathing easier, if not all of them. Developers now have an unexpected shot to stand in the spotlight without being overshadowed by Rockstar’s unstoppable hype train. Some might even move their dates into 2025 now that the coast is clear.

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