AAA Games With High Expectations Keep Getting Delayed, and It’s a Good Thing

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Modern video games aren’t like they were back in the 1970s and ‘80s. Back then, coders could develop and publish games in a few months. Eventually, complexity and better hardware made it challenging to do that. In most cases, a AAA title released on a platform like the PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, or Nintendo Switch 2 can take anywhere from 3 to 7 years. That’s a long time, and the reason it takes so long to produce these types of games is the amount of work that goes into them. While devs provide projected release dates and work hard to reach them, gamers should take any announcement with a grain of salt.

Delaying AAA Games Allows Devs to Fix Potential Problems

Image courtesy of IO Interactive

Announced games and their delays became something of a punchline in 2025 because it happened several times to highly anticipated titles. The two most prominent examples are Grand Theft Auto 6 and 007 First Light. Rockstar Games announced the development of GTA 6 in 2022, and it was officially revealed the following year. In 2024 and 2025, GTA 6 won “Most Wanted Game” at the Golden Joystick Awards, so the fans clearly wanted to get their hands on it. After all, GTA 5 was released all the way back in 2013, so it’s been a long time since Rockstar published a new entry in the franchise.

Unfortunately, GTA 6 was delayed several times, and while it was set to release in 2025, as of writing, it’s scheduled for November 19, 2026. It sucks for gamers, but when you look into the game and its development further, it’s not something you want to see rushed. The same thing happened to 007 First Light, which ultimately settled into one of GTA 6’s old release dates. It’s now expected to come out on May 27, 2026, after delays. Again, this is a good thing because there’s a cautionary tale out there that tells devs and publishers to ensure they only release polished games.

That lesson is No Man’s Sky. The game is now widely beloved, but its rushed release back in 2016 was a colossal mistake. No Man’s Sky’s developers promised a ton of features and engaging elements that enticed players to pre-order their copies. When it finally came to market, the game lacked almost everything that the devs promised. There were so many disappointed players that Steam offered significant refunds. No Man’s Sky is a perfect example of how not to release a video game. While it’s an indie title at its core, No Man’s Sky boasted massive scale, sucking in gamers who were largely disappointed in what has ultimately evolved into a AAA title.

It’s Best to Delay and Not Rush a AAA Game

Image courtesy of Rockstar Games

Delays are always frustrating, especially when they affect millions of eager gamers. That will never change, but it’s essential to let the devs do their work because an unfinished game at launch is often dead on arrival. The worst thing any publisher can do is rush development … that happened with E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial on the Atari 2600, which was coded in only five weeks and is renowned as one of the worst video games ever made. Nobody wants to recreate that level of failure, so delaying a game until it’s fully ready is the best option. That’s true for the devs and publishers, as well as the gaming audience who enjoys playing their games.

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