The lengthy, lengthy await GTA 6 is coming to an finish, as the sport’s November 19 launch date approaches. Sure, there have been many leaks, however the real article arrives quickly.
It has been 13 years since GTA 5 launched in September 2013, and a lot has occurred on the earth of video video games since then. When GTA 5 got here out, Fortnite was not a factor. The live-service growth (and subsequent crash) hadn’t occurred but. E3 was nonetheless a thriving, can’t-miss annual summer season occasion. Nintendo had simply launched the ill-fated Wii U.
On this submit, we’re operating by means of among the most notable gaming occasions and tales since GTA 5 launched greater than a decade in the past. To make certain, this isn’t an exhaustive checklist, and it doesn’t contact on the numerous real-world, non-gaming high-profile occasions which have transpired. This checklist is all about large gaming tales, of which there have been many.
A Comical Quantity Of Skyrim Ports
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim launched all the way in which again in 2011 for PS3, Xbox 360, and PC–nearly two years earlier than GTA 5 launched. Since then, we’ve not gotten a brand new mainline The Elder Scrolls recreation both, however we have gotten a ridiculous variety of Skyrim ports throughout a bunch of various programs. These embrace Skyrim for Nintendo Change 1 and a couple of, Xbox One, Xbox Collection X|S, PS5, and numerous VR platforms. There’s even, kind of, a port of Skyrim obtainable for Amazon Alexa-enabled units. Dubbed Skyrim Very Particular Version, it enables you to discover Skyrim prefer it’s an old-school text-adventure, so you’ll be able to even hold enjoying because the Dragonborn when you make dinner. — Gabe Gurwin
Three Watch Canines Video games
Shortly after the launch of GTA 5, Ubisoft launched the unique Watch Canines, an open-world motion recreation that supplied related freedom to Grand Theft Auto however with a selected deal with hacking infrastructure and weaponizing Chicago’s electrical grid. It was adopted by a far superior sequel set in San Francisco, Watch Canines 2, a number of years later, and the London-set Watch Canines Legion in 2020. Whereas the games–particularly Watch Canines 2–certainly scratched a GTA-like itch, it has been radio silence on the sequence for a number of years. We’re crossing our fingers for a real sequel to Watch Canines 2 sooner or later. — Gabe Gurwin
Halo Is On PlayStation
It might have been nearly inconceivable to consider again in 2013, however a complete lot has modified during the last 13 years: Halo is now on PlayStation. In the course of the Xbox 360 period, Microsoft was nonetheless sticking to a conventional exclusives-focused launch technique, with a number of Halo video games releasing solely on Xbox 360. Even the real-time-strategy recreation Halo Wars initially launched solely on Xbox 360, not coming to PC till 2016. However instances have modified, and Microsoft opted to concurrently launch Halo: Marketing campaign Advanced on Xbox Collection X|S, PC, and, sure, PlayStation 5. It stays to be seen if it will proceed for future Halo video games, as new Xbox CEO Asha Sharma appears taken with returning to exclusives, nevertheless it certain is bizarre to see a Halo recreation on Sony’s system. — Gabe Gurwin
GTA 5 Got here To All These Different Platforms
Grand Theft Auto 5 was initially solely obtainable on Xbox 360 and PS3, with Rockstar following in its predecessors’ footsteps by not launching day-and-date with PC. However the recreation did ultimately come to PC, mod help and all, in 2015, and in addition launched on Xbox One and PS4. However the await the following GTA has gone on so lengthy that it additionally launched for Xbox Collection X|S and PS5, together with the separate GTA On-line element. Up up to now, it hasn’t come to Nintendo Change or Change 2, nevertheless it would not be notably stunning for that to occur sooner or later, as Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy is obtainable on Change. — Gabe Gurwin
15+ Name of Obligation Video games
The Name of Obligation sequence is annualized, and there have been so much of Name of Obligation video games launched since GTA 5 got here out in September 2013. Within the time since Rockstar launched GTA 5, Activision has launched 13 mainline Name of Obligation video games, with a 14th, Trendy Warfare 4, arriving in late October. Along with all of these video games, Activision launched the cellular recreation Name of Obligation: Cellular in 2019, the battle royale recreation Name of Obligation: Warzone in 2020, after which one other cellular recreation, Name of Obligation: Warzone Cellular, in 2024 (that recreation shut down in 2026). Additionally through the time since GTA 5 got here out, the Name of Obligation franchise modified palms, with Microsoft taking possession of the franchise by means of its buy of Activision Blizzard. — Eddie Makuch
EA Will get A New CEO
GTA 5 and EA govt Andrew Wilson are linked by means of GTA 5 releasing and Wilson being promoted to CEO in the identical month. Shortly after GTA 5 launched on September 17, 2013, Wilson was named CEO, changing John Riccitiello on September 20. Each GTA 5 and Wilson did nicely for themselves within the decade-plus that adopted, with GTA 5 promoting exceptionally nicely and Wilson presiding over a run from about $25/share to $200+, rising EA’s market cap by billions upon billions. This culminated in Wilson and his workforce agreeing to promote the corporate to a bunch of traders led by Saudi Arabia’s Public Funding Fund in August 2026 for $55 billion. — Eddie Makuch
The Dying Of E3
Not lengthy after E3 2013 wrapped up in June that yr, The Figueroa Resort, positioned close to the Los Angeles Conference Heart the place E3 was hosted, was adorned by spectacular and gargantuan GTA 5 paintings. Whereas GTA 5 and GTA On-line would persist and thrive within the decade-plus that adopted, E3 wouldn’t. As soon as a non-public commerce present for trade professionals and media, E3 opened to the general public in 2017, nevertheless it would not final. After COVID led to the cancellation of the 2020 present, organizers held a digital present in 2021. The 2022 occasion was canceled completely, and although organizers promised a “reinvigorated showcase” for 2023, that did not occur either–E3 was canceled completely. Rockstar was identified to make bulletins at E3, as the corporate unveiled a brand-new PS3-exclusive spy recreation referred to as Agent at E3 2009. — Eddie Makuch
COVID And Its Influence On Gaming
The COVID-19 pandemic, which took maintain in early 2020, had an enormous impression on the world, in fact, together with the online game trade. As a result of stay-at-home orders and normal social distancing insurance policies, folks spent extra time–and money–on issues they may do at residence. Naturally, residence fitness center and health gear gross sales soared, however so did spending on leisure like video video games.
Gross sales of video games and consoles skyrocketed, Twitch set unprecedented viewership information, and naturally, the surging spending on video games made dollar-signs seem in govt and investor’s eyes. Coupled with traditionally low prices to borrow cash, this led to a scenario the place firms ramped up hiring and traders funded new studios, pondering the momentum may be sustainable. Painfully, it was not. Consultants at the moment are wanting again and saying executives and traders mistook a bubble for a baseline. Subsequently, the previous few post-COVID years have been among the most tumultuous in current instances, with 1000’s of layoffs, quite a few studio closures, numerous recreation cancellations, and funding funding slowing down considerably. The pandemic could also be behind us, however its impacts are nonetheless being felt at the moment. — Eddie Makuch
What’s extra, the surging spending on video games made dollar-signs seem in govt and investor’s eyes. Coupled with traditionally low prices to borrow cash, this led to a scenario the place firms ramped up hiring and traders funded new studios, pondering the momentum may be sustainable. Painfully, it was not. Consultants at the moment are wanting again and saying executives and traders mistook a bubble for a baseline. Subsequently, the previous few post-COVID years have been among the most tumultuous in current instances, with 1000’s of layoffs, quite a few studio closures, numerous recreation cancellations, and funding funding slowing down considerably. The pandemic could also be behind us, however its impacts are nonetheless being felt at the moment. — Eddie Makuch
Future got here and went
GTA 5 has been a hell of a hit story for Rockstar Video games, incomes the studio essential acclaim. However GTA On-line? That on-line portion of the sport hit the mark for essential and industrial success, rising as a large within the live-service recreation area. Few video games can evaluate to it, however for a quick time, Bungie’s Future introduced some stiff competitors in a market the place participant consideration spans are the whole lot. It may need gotten off to a gradual begin, however a yr later, Future was firing on all cylinders with the discharge of its Taken King enlargement.
That momentum would start to stall over the following few years, however as soon as Bungie discovered its groove with Future 2’s seasonal mannequin, each Tuesday was a purpose to take a seat down and revel in the whole lot that the weekly reset needed to supply. For a number of years, issues have been good: new content material rolled out at a gentle clip, new recreation modes made the await the following enlargement stream by quick, and that gratifying grind for brand spanking new loot was all the time welcome. That magic could not final without end, and following the discharge of The Last Form in 2024, Future’s days have been numbered. The Fringe of Destiny saga noticed two extra compact expansions launched, however by mid-2026, Bungie was prepared to maneuver on to new tasks and its extraction-shooter Marathon–with mass layoffs being an unlucky facet impact.
Future’s lifespan was quick within the grand scheme of issues, however ask anybody who performed, these few years of gallivanting throughout planets and saving existence from would-be gods was downright magical. – Darryn Bonthuys
Saints Row fizzled out
Has there ever been a real GTA-killer? At one level, Saints Row was being positioned because the Bovril to GTA’s Marmite, and it is not exhausting to see why. GTA adopted a extra critical tone and have become more and more grounded in actuality, whereas Saints Row operated like a Looney Tunes sandbox that embraced absurdity. Saints Row 2 bought the ball rolling on that concept, however by the point that Saints Row 4 hit the scene, the shark had been jumped, flipped off, and killed with a rocket launcher.
Volition’s Saints Row reboot in 2022 was seen as an try and deliver the franchise again to actuality, however that is most likely why it did not take off with followers. With one foot planted within the realm of realism and one other testing the waters of silliness, Saints Row in the end felt like a recreation that did not know what it wished to be. The launch was middling, the sport was buggy as hell throughout its first few weeks, and the entire expertise felt like an open-world recreation designed by a committee, devoid of any actual identification. Not lengthy after, Volition Studios was shut down, and for now, it seems just like the Saints Row franchise is lifeless. – Darryn Bonthuys
The Whole Phil Spencer Period Of Xbox
After becoming a member of Microsoft as an intern again in 1988, Phil Spencer was promoted to go of Xbox in 2014, kicking off his 12-year stint as probably the most notable figures in video video games. In a scenario eerily just like present Xbox head, Asha Sharma, Spencer got here in throughout an especially risky time for Xbox. Following the disastrous reveal of the Xbox One, Spencer was introduced in to revitalize the model and restore participant belief, and did so by prioritizing backwards compatibility, fostering relationships with third-party studios, and creating Xbox Recreation Cross.
Spencer was shortly embraced by the Xbox group, who championed him as a real gamer who understood what gamers wished. However whereas his numerous initiatives and spending sprees may need endeared him to followers initially, his repute soured over time attributable to his mismanagement of the varied studios Xbox acquired and the quickly rising costs of each Recreation Cross and Xbox {hardware}. Spencer formally retired as Microsoft Gaming CEO earlier this yr, abandoning an especially unstable firm and a legacy tainted by layoffs, value hikes, and an general weakening of the Xbox model. And someway, all of this occurred within the span of time between GTA 5 and GTA 6. — Jessica Cogswell
The Nintendo Change’s Whole Existence
A yr earlier than Grand Theft Auto 5 hit cabinets, Nintendo unveiled a brand new (oddly named) console: the Wii U. Regardless of the success of its predecessor, the Wii, the Wii U was met with confusion and combined reactions, each of which led to it turning into Nintendo’s lowest-selling residence console of all time (if we aren’t counting the Digital Boy). Following this industrial failure, Nintendo shortly went again to the drafting board. 5 years later, Nintendo launched its subsequent console: the Nintendo Change.
In combining its expertise for creating incredible handheld programs and the general public’s want for a house console with just a little one thing for everybody, Nintendo struck gold. The Change is now the second-best-selling console of all time, with almost 156.6 million items sold–less than 4 million items shy of the PlayStation 2. In 2025, Nintendo launched the successor to the console, the Nintendo Change 2, which has already hit almost 23.7 million items sold–a whopping 10 million extra items than the Wii U bought throughout its five-year life span.
Along with these consoles being tremendously profitable themselves, they’ve additionally helped usher in a brand new golden period for Nintendo video games. Titles like The Legend of the Zelda: Breath of the Wild, Hearth Emblem: Three Homes, Donkey Kong: Bananza, and Tremendous Mario Odyssey have successfully reshaped their respective sequence; much less energetic franchises, like Metroid, Luigi’s Mansion, Pokemon Snap, Kirby, and Animal Crossing, have been reinvigorated with critically acclaimed new entries; and the discharge of definitive variations of Tremendous Smash Bros. and Mario Kart have made the Change the final word vacation spot for all issues Nintendo. Mix all this with the addition of Nintendo On-line’s catalog of video games, and it really feels as if the Change is Nintendo’s pièce de résistance. — Jessica Cogswell
Consoles Obtained A Lot Extra Costly
Though video video games have technically by no means been cheaper, console costs have risen astronomically within the time since GTA 5’s launch. These value hikes have been particularly unhealthy in recent times, as tariffs and the continued elements crisis–linked largely to the rise of AI knowledge centers–have made the price of making consoles much more costly. Consequently, customers at the moment are paying extra for five-year-old consoles than they might have in the event that they bought them day one.
The Xbox Collection X, initially bought for $500 when it launched in November 2020, now rests at $800–and it is already rumored that the console will see a value hike once more in 2027. The PlayStation 5 Digital Version has risen from $400 to $600, whereas the model with a disc drive has jumped from $500 to $650. Even Nintendo has elevated its console costs, with each the Change 2 and Change OLED seeing $50 value will increase. And do not even get me began on how unreasonable it could be to construct a PC lately. — Jessica Cogswell