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From AA to AAAA—and Now AAAAA
In gaming, the shorthand of AA, AAA, and even AAAA is often used to measure scope, budget, and ambition. While AAA once meant blockbuster quality, publishers have stretched the term to AAAA for marketing flair. Now, a new label — AAAAA — has entered the conversation, thanks to none other than Grand Theft Auto VI (GTA VI).
In an interview with IGN, Devolver Digital co-founder Nigel Lowrie said GTA VI exists on a level beyond AAA or AAAA. Its unprecedented scale and cultural footprint, he argued, make it the world’s first true “AAAAA” game.
But the remark didn’t come out of nowhere. Lowrie was speaking about how smaller and mid-sized studios plan their launches, strategically avoiding head-to-head releases with industry juggernauts. Alongside GTA VI, he pointed to Hollow Knight: Silksong as another “calendar-breaking” title warping the industry’s schedule, albeit at a different scale.
“Sometimes you just have to get out of the way,” Lowrie explained, noting that even unrelated genres tend to shift release windows when a cultural behemoth is on the horizon.
GTA VI: The Storm Cloud Over 2026
IGN described GTA VI as a “giant storm cloud” looming over the industry, influencing not just rival open-world titles but even unrelated genres like horror and strategy. PC Gamer later went further, calling it a “nuclear blast” that studios are scrambling to avoid.
The impact is already visible. Many publishers are crowding late 2025 with launches, secure in the knowledge that Rockstar’s blockbuster won’t land until the following year. Few want to risk being overshadowed.
Clearing the Way
Rockstar Games has officially confirmed that Grand Theft Auto VI will release on May 26 next year for PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S. No PC date has yet been announced.
With expectations at an all-time high and industry figures coining new terms just to describe it, GTA VI is more than just another big-budget game. For many, it’s the industry’s first true “AAAAA” title, a cultural event reshaping the release calendar itself.
