FILE PHOTO: Grand Theft Auto The Trilogy by Take-Two Interactive Software Inc is seen for sale in a store in Manhattan, New York City, U.S., February 7, 2022. REUTERS/Andrew Kelly/File Photo

By Zaheer Kachwala

(Reuters) -Repeated delays of "Grand Theft Auto VI" have failed to perturb analysts, who believe the new release window will allow Take-Two Interactive to make a bigger splash when it launches the videogame industry's highly anticipated title next year.

The videogame publisher pushed the title to November 19 next year from its earlier release date of May 26, marking a second public delay for the videogame and sending the company's shares 6% lower on Friday.

The delay left fans and investors disappointed, but analysts believe it positions "GTA VI" to benefit from the holiday-season surge in spending, with the game expected to rake in billions of dollars within the first few weeks of release.

"Releasing it closer to the holiday season allows for more opportunities to bundle with the tail end of current-gen consoles, making it more valuable to Take-Two because of the marketing dollars the console makers will be willing to invest," said Joost van Dreunen, games professor at NYU's Stern School of Business.

The delay would also not lead to an overall cut in annual sales forecasts for Take-Two's upcoming financial years, as bookings projections would only get shifted around. Jefferies said the brokerage will "simply shift our estimates forward 2 quarters."

Delays have become common in the videogame industry as studios grapple with rising development costs and high expectations from fans who expect a polished experience at launch.

"They (Take-Two) need the game to be great and more time makes that more likely," said Michael Pachter, managing director, strategic planning at Wedbush Securities.

MIXED PUBLIC REACTIONS

News of the latest delay sparked debate in public forums around the likelihood of Take-Two and developer Rockstar Games meeting the November window given the company's track record for postponing its games.

"I was cautiously optimistic it would hit the May date, but totally expected it to slip to late 2026. Question is... does it slip to 2027?," one user wrote on Reddit.

The anticipation and repeated delays have sparked a meme frenzy on social media about events that could occur before "GTA VI" is launched. There are even bets on prediction platforms such as Polymarket, including OpenAI releasing GPT-6, Bitcoin hitting $1 million and a new Rihanna album.

Despite the delays, Rockstar Games' portfolio of hits such as the "Red Dead Redemption" series has left some users cautiously optimistic, preferring to let the developers take their time.

"Whatever date is needed to yield the best possible project is the date it should be released," another Reddit user wrote.

(Reporting by Zaheer Kachwala in Bengaluru; Editing by Leroy Leo)