With out the launch of Grand Theft Auto 6 this yr, console income could be flat in comparison with 2025.
That is in response to Newzoo’s director of market intelligence, Emmanuel “Manu” Rosier, who advised GamesIndustry.biz at Gamescom 2026 that Rockstar’s blockbuster crime romp is the one factor that’s guaranteeing that the console market will see any development in 2026. Rosier additionally stated that Nintendo Swap 2 can be a contributing issue to console’s efficiency in the mean time.
“There are two drivers which can be explaining the present and future efficiency of consoles: Swap 2 and, clearly, the discharge of Grand Theft Auto 6 this yr, which goes to drive the market up,” Rosier stated.
“If in 2026, as an instance Grand Theft Auto 6 wasn’t popping out, then you definately would have a platform happening year-on-year. GTA is admittedly serving to consoles obtain constructive development in 2026.”
According to Newzoo’s newly released Global Games Market Report, console income is about to rise 5.1% in 2026 to hit $46.9 billion, whereas Grand Theft Auto 6 is forecast to extend full-game spending by 17.5%, one thing that Newzoo has recognized because the “strongest development of any enterprise mannequin.”
Rosier went on to say that the launch of Grand Theft Auto 6 is “going to be cannibalistic to another video games”, possible a motive that so many studios have opted to maneuver their launch dates to keep away from the sport’s launch.
Requested whether or not 2026 will see an enormous ‘Grand Theft Auto bump’ that may then right in 2027, Rosier stated that the “power of Grand Theft Auto as a listing title” is big, which means that “the story does not finish on the finish” in 2026.
“We’ve no certainty about what GTA On-line will develop into within the coming months and yr,” Rosier stated. “We all know there can be a transition in some unspecified time in the future, however Take-Two has not been speaking about it, so we do not know when it should be the match between present GTA and new GTA. We all know it is also producing quite a lot of income. Our forecast for 2027 contains the launch of Grand Theft Auto 6 on PC, in order that’s an enormous driver clearly. However we now have no data of any variety. We’re simply trying on the previous and the way issues unfolded for the earlier Grand Theft Auto title.” Discussing the response to the cost of Grand Theft Auto 6, Rosier says that generally one writer leads the way in which after which others observe; he provides that “the value elasticity could be very low” as a result of “there is just one GTA 6”.
“Everybody’s been ready so lengthy,” Rosier says. “IT doesn’t suggest that everybody can try this. However normally when the highest pricing will increase, it lifts the market; the indie recreation turned $30 slightly than $20. The costs are being lifted a bit bit.”
Newzoo’s Global Games Market Report showed that once again mobile is the biggest platform and is forecast to generate 57% of all income globally this yr. That is $121.1 billion, representing a 6.8% improve year-on-year, pushed by increased participant spending and direct-to-consumer storefronts.
Hi, I’m Rishab. I’m a passionate pc gamer and an avid video game content writer. I have been involved with video games for over 2 decades now, and even today, after playing an astronomical number of games over the years, I’m still eager for more. In my free time, you will find me enjoying a hot cup of coffee and playing my favorite relaxing fishing game, Dave the Diver.
