Fear of GTA 6? EA Boss Considers Changing Battlefield’s Release Date to Avoid Competition

2025 looks like a packed year for AAA video games. Not only do we have the launch of the Nintendo Switch 2 and its exclusive games to contend with, but also a long list of major hits expected in late 2025, such as Borderlands 4, Mafia: The Old Country, and Ghost of Yōtei. And let’s not forget the inevitable new Call of Duty from Activision, almost certainly slated for October or November.

But the biggest challenge is Rockstar’s guaranteed juggernaut, Grand Theft Auto 6, which is still scheduled for a fall 2025 release on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S. Will it be delayed? For now, parent company Take-Two is sticking to the fall 2025 launch window, but this uncertainty—along with the slew of other major shooters releasing—means EA’s Battlefield could face a tough battle to carve out space for itself.

EA has its next Battlefield slated for fiscal year 2026, meaning before April 2026. This is prime territory for GTA 6, and possibly even Call of Duty and Borderlands 4. So, to what extent does EA need to consider the release dates of competing games when planning Battlefield‘s launch?

A bit, admitted EA CEO Andrew Wilson in a recent financial meeting—and the company may even be willing to delay Battlefield if necessary.

“Certainly, we’re in a competitive market,” Wilson said in response to an analyst’s question on this exact topic. “I’ve had the great fortune of being with this company for 25 years, and we’ve done a great job of competing with all of our major franchises over time.”

“That said, we’re investing more in this Battlefield than any other Battlefield before. We have four studios. We’ve had a significant amount of time. We want this to be the biggest Battlefield we’ve ever made. And, of course, we want to make sure we launch it during a window where we can deliver on the full promise of what Battlefield can be and grow the community to a level proportional to the size of the game we’re making.”

“I believe this year could be a differentiating year in terms of competition. Some things may happen during the year that make us think differently about the timing of our release. The team is aiming for a February 26th launch window. We believe the game will be great and ready by that time, but if we get close to that deadline and feel it’s not the best window for us, we’ll look at an alternative window that gives us the time, energy, and player acquisition opportunities necessary for this Battlefield to be everything it needs to be.”

As it stands, the new Battlefield will be released before April 2026. Let’s say it’s in November 2025 (since Battlefield 2042 was released in November 2021 and Battlefield 5 in November 2018). But what if GTA 6 drops around that time as well? In response, EA might push back the Battlefield launch to the first quarter of 2026, still within its fiscal year.

But what if EA already plans to launch Battlefield in the first quarter of 2026, and Rockstar announces a delay for GTA 6 into that same quarter? Could EA move Battlefield up? Or perhaps, in that case, they would push Battlefield out of the fiscal year and into the next one. It would be a major decision, but based on Wilson’s comments, it’s something EA is prepared for.

You can see why EA and, reportedly, many other third-party publishers are holding their breath while waiting for Rockstar to announce the news the whole industry is waiting for: the GTA 6 release date. Once that’s revealed—whether for this fall, as planned, or for 2026—all the other pieces will undoubtedly fall into place.