2025 seems to be like a stacked 12 months for triple-A video video games. Not solely do we now have the launch of the Nintendo Switch 2 and its unique video games to cope with, however we’ve bought a protracted record of huge hitters set for later in 2025, reminiscent of Borderlands 4, Mafia: The Old Country, and Ghost of Yōtei. And then there’s the inevitable new Call of Duty from Activision, little question set for October or November.
But the large one is Rockstar’s assured behemoth Grand Theft Auto 6, which remains to be down for launch in fall 2025 on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X and S. Will or not it’s delayed? Parent firm Take-Two is up to now sticking to the autumn 2025 launch window, but it surely’s that uncertainty coupled with all the opposite large shooters popping out which means EA’s Battlefield could face a difficult job carving out some area for itself.
EA has the following Battlefield down for its 2026 fiscal 12 months, which suggests earlier than April 2026. That’s prime GTA 6 territory proper there, and possibly even prime Call of Duty and Borderlands 4 territory. So, how a lot does EA have to contemplate launch dates from competing video games in relation to figuring out when to launch Battlefield?
A good bit, EA CEO Andrew Wilson admitted in a current monetary name — and it might even be prepared to delay Battlefield if it has to.
“Certainly we exist in a aggressive market,” Wilson stated in response to a query from an analyst on this actual subject. “I’ve had the nice fortune to be on this firm for 25 years and we now have carried out an excellent job of competing with all of our nice franchises over time.
“That being stated, we have invested extra on this Battlefield than any Battlefield earlier than. We have 4 studios. We’ve had a significant period of time. We’re searching for this to be the largest Battlefield we have ever made. And we in fact wish to ensure that we launch that right into a window the place we are able to ship on the fullness of the promise of what Battlefield may be and develop the neighborhood to a stage that’s commensurate with the dimensions of the sport that we’re making.
“I do imagine that this 12 months may be a nuanced 12 months relative to competitors. There could also be some issues taking place within the 12 months that will trigger us to suppose in another way about our launch timing. We have an FY 26 launch window that the crew is focusing on. We imagine the sport will likely be nice and prepared at the moment, but when we bought near that timeframe and believed that this wasn’t going to be an excellent window for us, then we’d check out what an alternate window may be that will give us the suitable time, vitality, and participant acquisition alternative for this Battlefield to be all that it wanted to be.”
As it stands, the brand new Battlefield will likely be out earlier than April 2026. Let’s say November 2025 (Battlefield 2042 got here out November 2021 and Battlefield 5 got here out November 2018). What if GTA 6 launches in or round then? Perhaps EA will, in response, push Battlefield again to the primary quarter of 2026, nonetheless making its fiscal 12 months.
But what if it intends to launch Battlefield Q1 2026 already, after which Rockstar declares a GTA 6 delay to Q1 2026? Could EA carry Battlefield ahead? Or possibly it will, in that case, push Battlefield out of the fiscal 12 months and into the following. That can be a giant choice, however primarily based on Wilson’s feedback, one thing EA is ready for.
You can see why EA, and, we’ve heard, many different third-party publishers are holding their breath as they look forward to Rockstar to announce the information the complete trade is hanging on: the GTA 6 launch date. Once that’s out within the open, whether or not it’s for this fall as deliberate or a delay into 2026, all the opposite items will fall little question into place.
Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can attain Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.
