Take Two Down As BofA Downgrades Stock Amid Concerns Over 'Grand Theft Auto VI' Delay

Takeaways

Shares of Take-Two Interactive fell as Bank of America downgraded the stock due to concerns about when the new “Grand Theft Auto VI” would be available. (GTA 6) will be released.
Although it was expected that the game would be released in March 2025, analysts now believe that it will not be available until the fall of This year. .
Bank of America noted that Rockstar Games, a subsidiary of Take-Two and maker of GTA 6, had a history of delays in releasing games.

Shares of Take-Two Interactive Software (TTWO) fell after Bank of America reported of his concerns regarding the release date of the highly anticipated video game “Grand Theft Auto VI” (GTA 6).

BofA lowered the stock's rating to neutral from buy due to doubts the game would release in March 2025, as many had expected. Research analysts Omar Dessouky and Arthur Chu explained that the December 5 trailer for GTA 6 by Take-Two subsidiary Rockstar Games indicated that the game would “arrive in 2025.”

They argued that this left open to interpretation when the game would actually be available. For this reason, in addition to the fact that Rockstar “has a history of delaying launch dates”, analysts have stated that they “now assume that the GTA 6 launch will take place in the fall 2025”.

The BofA team noted that consensus estimates for Take-Two's fiscal 2025 assume a March 2025 release date. They expect these estimates to drop by around 20 % before August 2024.

Dessouky and Chu also stated that, based on the trailer and previously leaked footage, not enough is known about the quality of GTA 6 “to warrant a multi-billion dollar price tag for GTA Online.” .

Take-Two shares closed 2 % down Thursday to $154.21, but the stock is still up 50% for the year.