Zelda and GTA: Two Highly Anticipated November Games Amid a Troubled Industry
Grand Theft Auto VI and a remake of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time are due out weeks apart in November 2026. Both stand out against an industry marked this year by layoffs and studio closures.
Two of the biggest video games of the year are set to launch only weeks apart this November: Rockstar's Grand Theft Auto VI and Nintendo's remake of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time for the Switch 2 console. A commentary from the technology site The Verge argues that these releases are exceptions, since the rest of the games industry is going through a difficult year.
Two very different blockbusters
Grand Theft Auto VI has been 13 years in the making. Its predecessor, GTA V, has sold 230 million copies since 2013. Analyst firm Circana estimates that 29 percent of gamers in the US intend to buy the new title. Analyst Mat Piscatella says demand could even lift flagging console sales, as some consumers may buy a PlayStation 5 or Xbox Series console specifically to play it. Almost every other major publisher moved its releases earlier to avoid the game.
Nintendo is the one major company willing to compete head-on. The original Ocarina of Time was the first game to present Hyrule in 3D. A live-action Zelda film is also planned for 2027.
An industry under strain
This year has been defined by layoffs, studio closures, unpopular business models, concern over AI and rising hardware costs. Xbox is carrying out a restructuring that includes thousands of layoffs, Epic Games has cut more than 1,000 jobs, and Sony has reduced staff at Bungie and Sucker Punch. EA recently shut down the studio BioWare and canceled the next Mass Effect game.
The author argues that Nintendo and Rockstar are hard cases to replicate: Nintendo controls both its hardware and its games, while Rockstar gained a special position through the lasting success of GTA V. In his view, the industry may not see a moment like this again.
