2025 is shaping up to be a monumental year for triple-A video games. The highly anticipated Nintendo Switch 2 is set to launch alongside a slate of exclusive titles, but that's just the beginning. The year is packed with major releases including Borderlands 4, Mafia: The Old Country, and Ghost of Yōtei. Of course, we can't forget the annual tradition of a new Call of Duty game from Activision, likely slated for an October or November release.
However, the biggest event on the gaming calendar is undoubtedly Grand Theft Auto 6 (GTA 6) from Rockstar Games, scheduled for a fall 2025 release on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X and S. Despite whispers of potential delays, Take-Two Interactive, Rockstar's parent company, remains committed to the fall 2025 window. This uncertainty, combined with the crowded release schedule of other blockbuster titles, poses a significant challenge for EA's upcoming Battlefield game.
EA has penciled in the next Battlefield for its 2026 fiscal year, which ends in April 2026. This timing puts it squarely in the crosshairs of not only GTA 6 but also potentially Call of Duty and Borderlands 4. The question then becomes how much EA needs to consider the release dates of these competing titles when planning its own launch.
In a recent financial call, EA CEO Andrew Wilson acknowledged the competitive nature of the gaming industry. He emphasized that EA is more invested in this Battlefield than any previous installment, with four studios contributing to its development over a significant period. Wilson's goal is for this to be the biggest Battlefield yet, and he stressed the importance of choosing a launch window that maximizes the game's potential and community growth.
"Certainly we exist in a competitive marketplace," Wilson stated. "I've had the great fortune to be in this company for 25 years and we have done a great job of competing with all of our great franchises over time. That being said, we've invested more in this Battlefield than any Battlefield before. We have four studios. We've had a meaningful amount of time. We're looking for this to be the biggest Battlefield we've ever made. And we of course want to make sure that we launch that into a window where we can deliver on the fullness of the promise of what Battlefield can be and grow the community to a level that is commensurate with the size of the game that we're making."
Wilson hinted that 2025 might be a particularly challenging year due to the competition. He suggested that EA might be willing to adjust the launch timing if necessary. "I do believe that this year might be a nuanced year relative to competition. There may be some things happening in the year that may cause us to think differently about our launch timing. We have an FY 26 launch window that the team is targeting. We believe the game will be great and ready at that time, but if we got close to that timeframe and believed that this wasn't going to be a great window for us, then we would take a look at what an alternate window might be that would give us the appropriate time, energy, and player acquisition opportunity for this Battlefield to be all that it needed to be."
99 Details in the GTA 6 Trailer - Slideshow
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Currently, the new Battlefield is set to release before April 2026. If we assume a November 2025 launch (following the pattern of Battlefield 2042 in November 2021 and Battlefield 5 in November 2018), and GTA 6 also launches around that time, EA might consider delaying Battlefield to the first quarter of 2026, still within its fiscal year.
However, if EA is already planning a Q1 2026 release for Battlefield and Rockstar delays GTA 6 to the same period, EA might have to decide whether to move Battlefield forward or push it out of the fiscal year entirely. Wilson's comments suggest that EA is prepared to make such strategic adjustments.
The gaming industry is keenly awaiting Rockstar's announcement of the GTA 6 release date. Once that's clear, whether it's for fall 2025 as planned or delayed into 2026, other publishers will be able to finalize their own release strategies. Until then, EA and many others are in a holding pattern, ready to adapt to whatever the future holds.
