'GTA VI' delay weighs on global videogame market growth, data shows

The global videogame market's growth rate is expected to improve marginally in 2025 from the previous year, according to a report from research firm Newzoo, seen exclusively by Reuters on Tuesday. Analysts and industry experts had projected a surge in industry growth this year due to the expected blockbuster launch of Take-Two's "Grand Theft Auto VI" and new consoles. However, the delay of the long-awaited title to next year and price hikes to videogame hardware, arising from tariffs, have made consumer spending uncertain. The global videogame market is projected to grow 3.4% to $188.9 billion in 2025, compared with last year's growth of 3.2%, according to the report. "This forecast reflects concrete changes, hardware cycles, pricing trends, install base growth, and title pipelines," said Michiel Buijsman, principle analyst at Newzoo.
Compounded annually, Newzoo expects the market to grow 3.3% till 2027, compared with its earlier forecast of 3.7%.
As "GTA VI" is scheduled to launch in 2026, the industry will most likely see the boost from sales next year along with the release of other premium titles such as Capcom's "Resident Evil Requiem." The launch of "GTA VI" on PC is also expected to carry growth through 2027, the report said. Price increases to Microsoft's Xbox and Sony's PlayStation devices have sparked fears of slower hardware sales as consumers globally grapple with market uncertainty, even as Nintendo's Switch 2 became the company's fastest-selling console.
"Xbox generally is falling further behind on Xbox One, so there will be more sales to come but we don't expect big numbers... we expect that the lifetime units of PS5 will still slightly trail PS4," Buijsman said. Xbox also unveiled its own handheld console, the Xbox Ally, earlier this month, developed in partnership with ASUS and set to launch in holidays 2025.

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