Games delayed because of GTA 6: who said it out loud and who just stepped aside

The end of 2026 is unusually quiet for big releases, and GTA 6 on November 19 is the obvious reason. Publishers rarely admit they’re avoiding a rival, though. Of the games that moved out of the autumn, two named GTA 6 outright, one came close, and one only mentioned a “competitive holiday period.”

Said it outright

Squadron 42, the single-player game from the makers of Star Citizen, was due around the end of 2026 and is now planned for the second quarter of 2027. Chris Roberts wrote on the RSI site that he wouldn’t launch a game with twelve years of work in it “into the attention buzz saw of GTA 6,” because “pretty much all outlets and most content creators will be all over it” even without a PC version (PC Gamer).

Danganronpa 2×2, an expanded remake of Danganronpa 2, moved from 2026 to 2027. In an interview with Crunchyroll, producer Shohei Sakakibara said the team wanted to avoid launching next to “a certain AAA/AAAA title.” Asked if he meant GTA 6, series creator Kazutaka Kodaka laughed that he wouldn’t have time to make the game while playing Grand Theft Auto VI (Automaton).

Almost said it: Fable

On May 29 Xbox moved Fable from October 2026 to February 2027 “so it can have the dedicated moment it deserves.” The announcement listed GTA VI among the autumn’s big games without saying it was the reason (VICE). At Gamescom, director Ralph Fulton told IGN that the reasoning was “pretty apparent to everybody” and added: “We don’t run scared of other big games… There’s just one that I’m happy to avoid entirely” (PC Gamer).

Didn’t name it: Lords of the Fallen II

On June 25 CI Games moved Lords of the Fallen II from autumn 2026 to early 2027. The official reasons were more polishing time and a window that “strategically positions Lords of the Fallen II outside of a highly competitive holiday period.” GTA 6 isn’t mentioned; the link comes from the press, which points out that November belongs to Rockstar (Game Informer).

Only guesses

Fan trackers add games that may have dodged GTA 6 without any statement. The most cited is Forza Horizon 6: Playground usually ships the series in autumn, but this one came out on May 19, 2026, and insider NateTheHate said a first-half release was the goal once GTA 6 moved to November (GTA BOOM). Microsoft never confirmed that, so treat it as a theory.

Who isn’t running

Not everyone is moving away. Hooded Horse is releasing Blacksmith Master 1.0 on the same day as GTA 6, on purpose, and Rainbow Six Siege’s creative director simply expects every game to take a hit (who’s bracing for GTA 6). The whole calendar up to launch is in our GTA 6 launch calendar.