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"Every studio worldwide had it on their minds."
Asobo, the developer behind A Plague Tale, has described Grand Theft Auto 6 as an "ogre" in terms of its overwhelming impact on the 2026 release calendar. Its own title, Resonance: A Plague Tale Legacy, is set to launch that same year, arriving in late August, just a couple of months before GTA 6 makes its explosive debut.
We've witnessed the clear influence GTA 6 has exerted on the release schedule in recent weeks, with publishers shifting their games to September or February 2027 to steer clear of its November launch. However, GTA 6's presence has loomed large, similar to a Star Destroyer, ever since it was initially slated for a fall 2025 release, and it has continued to do so with each subsequent delay and calendar adjustment. Navigating around it, Asobo explained, is unavoidable when releasing a game this year.
"Throughout the entire production, we were thinking, okay, our release date could fall this year—and then there's GTA," Resonance: A Plague Tale Legacy producer Eric Chort told me during a recent conversation. "Every studio worldwide had it on their minds. When you know GTA is coming, you understand that in terms of marketing, player time, and engagement, GTA is like the ogre—it's the biggest one.
"So you try to adjust, you...try to dodge it. But then this year we see there are only good games, or at least plenty of good ones, so we think, okay, that's the nature of the industry, and we focus on making the best game we can.
"As a studio, that's the best you can do," Chort continued. "You aim to create the best game possible with the resources you have—the most authentic one. Establish your identity and make it unique; try to set it apart from everything else. After that, you've given it your all and you'll see what happens. But it's definitely an unusual year to launch."
The ripple effect of The Great GTA 6 Avoidance has turned September and February into risky months for game releases themselves, as they've become so crowded. Consequently, we've already seen some titles—like Phantom Blade Zero—boldly move closer to GTA 6 to reclaim some breathing room (and with such apparent ease). I fully anticipate more shifts before September arrives.
Resonance: A Plague Tale Legacy launches on 27th August, placing it at the forefront of that intensely busy period, and based on what I played a few weeks ago, it's coming together quite nicely. Resonance: A Plague Tale Legacy is a markedly different game from the two earlier Plague Tales, due to its emphasis on combat and its new protagonist Sophia, but in many other respects it remains a distinctly Plague Tale experience. I'm feeling optimistic.