Gaming industry analyst Mat Piscatella has claimed that the biggest competition Grand Theft Auto 6 may face could come from GTA 5. Despite the impending launch of Grand Theft Auto 6 next year, GTA 5 frequently appears in bestseller lists, 12 years after its initial release.
It is fair to suggest that Grand Theft Auto 6 has been a long time coming. When the game releases next year, it will have been almost 13 years since the last new title in the series. Between the two games, Rockstar did release Red Dead Redemption 2, a significant success in its own right. Despite the lengthy gap between games, Grand Theft Auto 5 remains one of the most-played games on the market, owing to its replayability and constant updates in GTA Online.
Grand Theft Auto 6’s Main Competition May Come From Within
Speaking to GamesIndustry.biz, analyst Mat Piscatella discussed games that launched to immense success and have simply persisted. “You look at something like Fortnite,” he stated. “It’s been, what, seven, eight years that it’s been the biggest phenomenon. Or Minecraft. Grand Theft Auto 5 launched in 2013 and remains one of the top 20 bestselling games monthly. The biggest competitor to Grand Theft Auto 6 will be Grand Theft Auto 5. It’s a wild time to be developing new video games.”
Although Piscatella argues based on GTA 5’s longevity, the competitive landscape shows why GTA has consistently succeeded. GTA faces challenges from would-be rivals. The Saints Row series had potential but failed with its 2022 reboot. Recent failures such as MindsEye and the inactivity of Ubisoft’s Watch Dogs signal that GTA’s only significant competition may indeed come from within.
The release of Grand Theft Auto 6 is still nine months away, and fans are left with only two trailers for now. While full-scale marketing is not expected immediately, it is anticipated that Rockstar will ramp up promotion as the 2026 launch approaches. Grand Theft Auto 6 could be one of the biggest game launches ever, escalating excitement as its release date nears.
