GTA 6 and Nintendo Switch 2 are make or break for games industry in 2025

GTA 6 and Nintendo Switch 2 will "determine how good or bad next year is" for the video games industry, according to analysts.

Veteran analyst Mat Piscatella of Circana recently spoke with Games Radar about how it's pretty much unprecedented for there to be so much focus on just two things which could define a year for the industry and what to expect.

He said: "Those two things are going to basically determine how good or bad next year is from a market look. I'm expecting both will show up next year and be relatively successful.

"So I'm anticipating we start seeing growth next year but if one misses the year, or if one doesn't deliver on expectations, it could be a much tougher look."

Bloomberg's Jason Schreier echoed this on a recent episode of Kinda Funny Games Daily.

"A lot of people are looking at GTA 6 as the rising tide that will lift all ships," he said. "The hope is that it will lead to a lot more PS5s being sold too.

"Switch 2 alone will make such a big impact that it's going to be fun to watch, I hope it's announced soon."

Nintendo Switch 2 and GTA 6 will 'determine how good or bad next year is' for the games industry, according to a veteran analyst / Wachiwit, iStock & Rockstar Games

For all the latest on GTA 6, be sure to keep up-to-date with the very latest in the indy100 live blog.

In terms of Switch 2 news and speculation, an accessories company may have accidentally shared the first "official" look at what the Switch 2 looks like in a trailer for a new product it's selling for use with the upcoming console.

Details about how the Switch 2 is likely to support faster microSD cards were spotted in a Nintendo job ad and a video posted on a Chinese video sharing platform appeared to show what the new Joy-Cons will look like for the Switch 2.

Recently, the Japanese company confirmed an announcement on the Switch 2 will still be made before the end of the current financial year, in other words before the end of March 2025, but fans have been venting frustration at the wait.

Shuntaro Furukawa, president at Nintendo, confirmed the Switch 2 console will have backwards compatibility with Nintendo Switch games although it's not currently known if that means physical games will be playable on Switch 2 or it's just downloadable software that will work.

A release window of "March" or "April" for the Switch 2 was revealed by the CEO of a games accessory company who said the console is "done" and "ready" and that his company has access to versions of the hardware that are nearly completely finalised, according to a report.

The CEO of a Japanese game industry consultancy and an analyst recently seemingly confirmed the console will be called Switch 2 and the console's first major game was leaked in its entirety due to a huge data hack at Pokemon developer Game Freak.

For more about the Switch 2, check out everything we know so far.

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