The creative director for Sucker Punch’s Ghost of Yotei has candidly confirmed the industry-wide relief that followed the delay of Grand Theft Auto 6. In a recent interview, director Nate Fox admitted his team celebrated the news that Rockstar Games’ title would be moved out of its original 2025 release window.
Rockstar Games had previously targeted a Fall 2025 launch for the sequel before announcing in May that the release date was being pushed to May 26, 2026, to “deliver at the level of quality [players] expect and deserve.” The move was widely seen as a beneficial development for other publishers, who feared releasing a major title in close proximity to GTA 6 would negatively impact sales.
When asked during an interview with MinnMax if the Sucker Punch studio “popped some champagne” after the delay was announced, Fox humorously confirmed the sentiment. “We’re all still hungover,” he replied. “Multi-month hangover. That was a great day.”
Fox’s comments align with a Bloomberg report from earlier this year, which claimed that rival publishers were delaying their own release date announcements for Fall 2025. According to the report, studios were waiting to see if GTA 6 would meet its deadline before committing to their own schedules, aiming to create significant distance between their launches and Rockstar’s.
With a clearer path ahead, Sucker Punch is preparing to launch Ghost of Yotei exclusively for the PlayStation 5 on October 2, 2025.
