EA Delays Battlefield Release Amid GTA 6 Competition

2025 is shaping up to be a monumental year for triple-A video games. With the highly anticipated launch of the Nintendo Switch 2 and its exclusive titles, gamers are already buzzing with excitement. But that's just the beginning. Later in 2025, we're set to see a slew of major releases, including Borderlands 4, Mafia: The Old Country, and Ghost of Yōtei. And let's not forget the annual tradition: a new Call of Duty from Activision, expected to hit shelves in October or November.

However, the game that's poised to dominate the headlines is Rockstar's Grand Theft Auto 6, slated for a fall 2025 release on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X and S. While parent company Take-Two remains committed to this timeline, the uncertainty surrounding it, combined with the onslaught of other blockbuster shooters, presents a challenging landscape for EA's Battlefield to find its footing.

EA has penciled in the next Battlefield for its fiscal year 2026, which ends in April 2026. This timing places it squarely in the shadow of GTA 6, and potentially other giants like Call of Duty and Borderlands 4. So, how much does EA need to consider the release dates of its competitors when deciding when to launch Battlefield?

Quite a lot, according to EA CEO Andrew Wilson, who recently acknowledged the competitive marketplace in a financial call. He emphasized the unprecedented investment in this Battlefield title, involving four studios and substantial development time. Wilson's vision is clear: he wants this to be the biggest Battlefield ever, launched at a time that maximizes its potential and community growth.

"Certainly we exist in a competitive marketplace," Wilson stated. "I've had the great fortune to be in this company for 25 years and we have done a great job of competing with all of our great franchises over time. That being said, we've invested more in this Battlefield than any Battlefield before. We have four studios. We've had a meaningful amount of time. We're looking for this to be the biggest Battlefield we've ever made. And we of course want to make sure that we launch that into a window where we can deliver on the fullness of the promise of what Battlefield can be and grow the community to a level that is commensurate with the size of the game that we're making.

"I do believe that this year might be a nuanced year relative to competition. There may be some things happening in the year that may cause us to think differently about our launch timing. We have an FY 26 launch window that the team is targeting. We believe the game will be great and ready at that time, but if we got close to that timeframe and believed that this wasn't going to be a great window for us, then we would take a look at what an alternate window might be that would give us the appropriate time, energy, and player acquisition opportunity for this Battlefield to be all that it needed to be."

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As it stands, the new Battlefield is scheduled to release before April 2026. If we speculate a November 2025 launch (following the pattern of Battlefield 2042 in November 2021 and Battlefield 5 in November 2018), and GTA 6 launches around the same time, EA might consider delaying Battlefield to the first quarter of 2026, still within its fiscal year.

However, if EA plans to release Battlefield in Q1 2026, and Rockstar delays GTA 6 to the same period, EA might either bring Battlefield forward or push it beyond the fiscal year into 2027. Such a decision would be significant, but Wilson's comments suggest EA is ready to adapt.

It's clear why EA, and many other third-party publishers, are on edge, waiting for Rockstar to unveil the GTA 6 release date. Once that's confirmed, whether it sticks to the fall 2025 plan or shifts to 2026, the rest of the industry's release schedule will likely fall into place.