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NO MORE DELAYS? ANALYST SAYS GTA VI'S NOVEMBER RELEASE LOOKS LOCKED

After over a decade in development, countless memes about the long lead-up and two delays, "Grand Theft Auto VI" looks set for a November 19 release, according to Raymond James analysts who recently met Take-Two Interactive TTWO.O executives.

"Nothing from our meetings gave us incremental caution on the company's ability to hit this date," the analysts said in a note to clients on Friday, which is likely to bring relief both to the game's fervent fans and the company's investors.

Little matters to Take-Two shareholders outside the release of the title. The franchise is the company's most lucrative and the last title in the series, "GTA V", is the second-best-selling game ever with billions of dollars in revenue.

The uncertainty surrounding the release is likely to end in mid-May, when executives will issue forecasts for fiscal 2027 - the financial year in which "GTA VI" is set to debut.

Management "effectively puts its credibility on the line" on that day, Raymond James said, cutting its probability of a delay by half to about 10% from between 20% and 25% previously.

Most analysts expect "GTA VI" would likely be an instant best-seller, given the franchise's established player base which has been sustained over the years with an active GTA Online community.

Raymond James analysts also said the Take-Two executives touched on the rising AI concerns in the gaming industry and stressed AI was being used internally for prototyping, quality assurance and localization, not for creative content production.

Beyond GTA VI, Raymond James highlighted a busy pipeline that includes Judas, a new BioShock, Max Payne remakes and an internally developed shooter called Project Ethos, pointing to a slate that could support growth well beyond the next major release.

(Kritika Lamba)

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