GTA6 is a massive scary ghost that has been haunting the game industry for years. Every time it has a release window, all the other publishers run scared. Except one.
One thing that has me excited for GTA6, besides the countless other reasons to be hype about it, is the fact it will stop dynamically changing the release schedules of every other publisher on the market. Every time Rockstar sets a date, games from every other studio seem to get delayed, pushed around, or held back in hopes of finding a spot away from all the GTA coverage it will undoubtedly receive. And heck, if some of the biggest names in gaming are scared, that doesn’t put much hope in new IP, or smaller lesser known titles.
That is unless you’re Gothic 3 (THQ Noridic) or Devolver Digital. Gothic 3 is so far flying under the radar, taking on GTA head on within the same week, but the two are different games if we are being fair. Devolver Digital, on the other hand, also hasn’t made a game that totally dives into the same market as GTA, but flying under radar is hardly their thing, instead they are taking it in stride.
With games like Hotline Miami, Cult of the Lamb, and upcoming Dark Scrolls they have made some excellent games that sold fairly well. When outlets started posting that everyone was “running from GTA6 in November,” Devolver bluntly replied “not everyone.” They don’t currently have an announced game in November, but we likely will see what it is this week during Summer Games Fest.
Devolver isn’t shy about utilizing GTA as a marketing tool of their own. They’ve had multiple statements about releasing a game on the same day as GTA6, with the previous delay by Rockstar being met with their statement of “You can’t escape us. November 19, 2026 it is then.” Devolver has also been respectful of the circumstance by calling GTA6 a “AAAAA” game, noting that it has more impact than any other game ever had. They even went after Red Dead Redemption by jokingly offering to publish the game on PC for Rockstar.
More importantly Devolver knows the road they travel is likely different from the audience GTA will bring in. GTA is so massive that not only will it bring in new gamers, it’ll bring in gamers that have been “away” for some time as well. Many of those gamers will look to find something more simple to play, or something totally different, and might discover new games in the process. This is where Devolver hopes to find their playerbase, if you don’t want to be on GTA, then check out their mysterious game.
What do you hope it is?
