There was a while there where Sucker Punch seemed to be in the unenviable position of releasing Ghost of Yotei within the same general launch orbit as GTA 6, which will likely be the biggest video game release ever.
Before GTA 6 was delayed to May 26, 2026, it was on track to launch late 2025, which would put it within striking distance of Ghost of Yotei’s then-confirmed October 2 release date – not an advantageous position for Sucker Punch at all. But then Rockstar announced the GTA 6 delay, and suddenly the Ghost of Tsushima studio’s prospects looked dramatically brighter.
Talking to MinnMax, Ghost of Yotei co-creative director Nate Fox said the delay was cause for celebration with plenty of adult beverages – so many that Fox joked that the team is still hungover these many months later.
“We’re all still hungover, multi-month hangover,” he said (timestamped here). “That was a great day.”
I can only imagine. Ghost of Yotei is a highly anticipated release in its own right, but man, there isn’t an upcoming game in the world that can compete with the unprecedented level of hype, not to mention Rockstar’s reported budget, for GTA 6. Having a few months of space between Yotei’s release and GTA 6’s could legitimately do wonders for the former’s success both financially and in terms of industry attention generally. Cheers, Sucker Punch, now drink some electrolyte water.
GTA 6 has been “a black cloud that looms over everything,” according to a marketing veteran, and thanks to roleplay servers it “competes with Silent Hill somehow”