Rockstar's GTA 6 is releasing this November, and some believe it will blot out the sun when it comes to the impact it will have on the greater gaming market. The game could also help other titles, like Activision's Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4. That's according to Activision chief marketing officer Tyle Bahl, who said in an interview that GTA 6 will drive more people to gaming overall, and this could act as a rising tide that lifts all ships, including Modern Warfare 4.
“Well, no offense to Zelda, but [GTA and COD] are the two biggest games of the year. And more people coming in to the dashboards, more people taking the dust off their Xbox or PlayStation and playing again, is going to be more eyeballs for us overall," he told The Game Business.
His comment about Zelda is in reference to Nintendo's The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time remake for Switch 2, which launches on November 5. It's expected to be a huge hit, just like MW4 and GTA 6.
Another publisher, Ubisoft, is not afraid of GTA 6, either. CEO Yves Guillemot said when a big game like GTA 6 comes out, it helps everyone in the industry. One of Ubisoft's biggest games, Rainbow Six Siege, is actually planning to debut new content right around the time GTA 6 launches.
Bahl also stated that a big differentiator for Call of Duty is "spending time with friends," and he thinks this will hold true for MW4 this year even with GTA 6 coming to market just a few weeks after MW4 releases on October 23.
"When we look at our research and say, ‘What is the most exciting things about our games? Is it the gunplay?’ It’s actually spending time with friends. And so, we stand on our own [in that regard]," he said. “If more people are talking about games, if there’s more press around it, that’s going to be good for everybody, not just us.”
MW4's campaign unlocks on October 16 for people who preorder, and the full game--comprising campaign, DMZ, and multiplayer--arrives for everyone on October 23. GTA 6 arrives 27 days later on November 19 for PS5 and Xbox Series X|S.