Activision Says GTA 6 Will Help Modern Warfare 4

Activision believes GTA 6 could help Modern Warfare 4 rather than overwhelm the new Call of Duty. According to company marketing chief Tyler Bahl, Rockstar’s launch should bring more people back to their consoles and increase the attention given to gaming. He expects GTA and Call of Duty to end 2026 as the year’s two biggest games.

Bahl shared that assessment during an interview with The Game Business. He was asked about GTA 6 and The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time remake both arriving in November, potentially creating a gaming equivalent of the “Barbenheimer” phenomenon. The question was whether that combination could dominate the conversation and leave Call of Duty behind.

The executive rejected that interpretation and placed Call of Duty inside the main competition for attention. Bahl said that, “no offense to Zelda,” GTA and Call of Duty are the two biggest games of the year. His comment shows that Activision views GTA 6 as part of a positive period for the industry rather than only as direct competition.

One of his arguments involves players returning to devices they already own. Bahl expects more people to visit their console dashboards, dust off an Xbox or PlayStation and start playing again. In his view, that activity would put a larger audience in front of other experiences available on the same platforms.

Activision also expects GTA 6 to boost sales of PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X and S consoles. Bahl did not provide figures or a commercial forecast for that effect, but he described growth in the active audience as an opportunity for Call of Duty. The more consoles that are purchased or switched on, the more people will be moving through the gaming ecosystem.

The expected increase in coverage and conversations about games is another central part of the argument. Bahl said that more people discussing games and more press attention would be good for everyone, not just Activision. Under that view, GTA 6 would become an entry point into a wider period of interest in the industry.

Bahl also argued that Call of Duty can stand on its community and social experience. Research cited by the executive indicates that playing with friends is one of the series’ most exciting qualities, even when compared with combat and gunplay. Call of Duty’s availability across platforms, from Switch 2 to PC, Xbox and PlayStation, is the advantage Activision hopes to use during that surge in attention.

The release calendar explains why the company is watching GTA 6 so closely. Modern Warfare 4 campaign early access was due to begin the day after the interview’s publication, while the Ocarina of Time remake is scheduled for November 5. GTA 6 arrives on November 19, placing Rockstar’s release at the center of that month’s activity.

Activision is also entering this period while trying to improve the performance of its biggest series. The source describes Black Ops 7 as a high-profile commercial disappointment, and Bahl admitted that releasing sequels from the same sub-brand in consecutive years had not worked. He said the community wanted something new and fresh, with a clearer tonal change.

For players waiting for GTA 6, the statement does not change the game’s date, price, platforms or access conditions. It does reveal how one of the industry’s biggest companies is planning its own release around the attention generated by Rockstar. Instead of treating November only as a contest, Activision expects the expanded audience to discover or return to other games as well.

It remains unknown whether this effect will actually appear in console sales or Modern Warfare 4’s results. Bahl did not provide estimates, targets or data showing how much of the audience attracted by GTA 6 might move over to Call of Duty. It is also unclear how long any wider increase in gaming activity would continue after November 19.

Activision’s assessment turns the expected scale of GTA 6 into a potential opportunity for the wider market. The outcome will depend on players actually returning to consoles and moving between different experiences, something that can only be measured after release. Tyler Bahl made the comments to The Game Business, as reported by IGN.