Visionary director and all-around creative genius behind Metal Gear Solid and founder of Kojima Productions, Hideo Kojima, recently revealed his thoughts on Grand Theft Auto VI‘s impact on game release windows and the games industry as a whole.
With many in the industry worried to go head-to-head with GTA 6, there have been quite a few studios that have intentionally withheld announcing release dates for their games in fear of having to release alongside the legendarily successful open world crime titan that is the Grand Theft Auto franchise.
Kojima-san indicated that the uncertainty around Rockstar’s highly anticipated GTA 6 release even changed the initial release date of Death Stranding 2: On the Beach, the sequel to his 2019 emotional sci-fi action-adventure Death Stranding.
On A Hideo Kojima Radio just prior to the newly announced release date for GTA 6, he discussed how gaming companies try to avoid releasing alongside major titles such as GTA 6, and explained that developers and publishers have had to adapt their plans by stating:
“Some are saying GTA may or may not release in November. As soon as it would be announced for November, everyone would move out of the way. For instance, if a new Mission Impossible movie were to release in May, others wouldn’t be able to compete with that so would move somewhere else.”
With many in the video game industry following a clear strategy of holding back on officially announcing and/or changing release dates due to a concern for competition with ultra popular and highly anticipated franchises, it seems as though fans may be waiting a little longer for some of the less hyped games when major franchises come around.
Do you think this tactic will allow for other games to get more opportunity to shine and get the time and recognition they may deserve, or does it feel unfair for gamers who are anticipating the games that would be released sooner rather than after the hype around the likes of GTA 6 had time to cool down a bit?
