The Timing Of Xbox's 25th Anniversary Just Got A Lot More Awkward
Image: Power On: The Story of Xbox | Chapter 3: And It Didn't Turn On

In case you haven't been keeping track, Xbox will be celebrating its 25th anniversary in 2026. The specific date is November 15th, 2026 - exactly 25 years since the original Xbox was first released on November 15th of 2001.

We've been hearing in recent months how there are big plans for Xbox in 2026 as a result, with Phil Spencer mentioning that it's going to be a "really special year" for the brand in an interview back in the summer.

However, Rockstar Games might have slightly derailed the celebrations this week by announcing that GTA 6 is getting delayed from May to November of next year. In fact, the new release date for arguably the biggest game ever is November 19th, 2026 - just four days after Xbox celebrates its 25th anniversary.

In some ways, that might not be a big deal at all, as Xbox will inevitibly be building up to November 15th and potentially having some kind of celebration stream on the day itself. We've speculated before how the next Xbox console might be revealed on November 15th with a 2027 release date, as that seems to make a lot of sense for the anniversary.

But what if they've been planning a big release for that date instead? We already know that Fable, Forza Horizon 6, Gears of War: E-Day and Halo: Campaign Evolved are all releasing at some point in 2026, and again, there's been speculation that one or more of them might have been held back for November 15th to mark the occasion.

In fact, we pondered Xbox's potential 2026 release schedule just a few days ago here at Pure Xbox:

Whatever the case may be, the fact remains that GTA 6 is going to overshadow Xbox's 25th anniversary celebrations just a few days after the date has passed, which is obviously a shame considering how important the milestone is.

There's every chance the folks at Xbox will now switch gears and move some things around to accommodate Rockstar Games' delay, and here's hoping it's all going to work out just fine. One thing's probably for sure though - we won't see any of Fable, Forza, Gears or Halo getting a release in November of next year.

Call of Duty is going to be an interesting one as well. Black Ops 7 is launching on November 14th this year, and unless they're mega confident about going up against GTA 6, it's unlikely we'll see the same situation next year. They'll probably end up having rush an October release (or even earlier) instead, which likely isn't ideal for the developer.

Of course, there were many people predicting that GTA might end up getting held back until later in the year, so we're assuming the team at Xbox have some kind of Plan B that was set in stone a little while ago.

The alternative is just to ignore it and proceed regardless of what Rockstar Games is doing, but let's not underestimate how big the next Grand Theft Auto is going to be - nobody wants to be competing with that title if they can help it.

For now, let's look forward to whatever Xbox has in store for the 25th anniversary of Xbox, with the celebrations likely to last all year anyway rather than just November 15th itself, and don't forget we've got the 20th anniversary of the Xbox 360 in just two weeks' time - a console that first released on November 22nd of 2005.

One thing's for sure - it's going to be a busy and very interesting year for Xbox fans in 2026!

Should Xbox Try And Avoid GTA 6 Where Possible? (440 votes)

  1. Yes, it's not a good idea to compete with GTA 6!37%
  2. Maybe in some ways15%
  3. Nah, they should just ignore GTA 6!47%
  4. Other2%

What are your thoughts on this? Let us know down in the comments section below.