GTA 6 will help Modern Warfare 4, Activision's CMO says

Activision's top marketer thinks Grand Theft Auto 6 will do Call of Duty a favour rather than bury it. In an interview with The Game Business, covered by Dexerto and GamesRadar+ on October 15, chief marketing officer Tyler Bahl argued that Rockstar's game will pull lapsed players back to their consoles. Some of that traffic, he expects, will end up in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4.

"No offense to Zelda," Bahl said, before naming GTA and Call of Duty as the two biggest games of the year. Modern Warfare 4, which Dexerto describes as a futuristic war set in Korea, launched on October 23, a little under a month before GTA 6 arrives in November.

That timing stands out. According to Dexerto, a string of publishers have spent the past few years moving their release dates away from GTA 6, and some have openly said their games would be swallowed by it. Activision kept Modern Warfare 4 close to Rockstar's launch, and Bahl doesn't appear worried about players dropping the shooter as soon as GTA 6 shows up.

Bahl's case: friends over gunplay

Bahl's argument comes down to the console dashboard. More people "taking the dust off their Xbox or PlayStation" means "more eyeballs for us," he told The Game Business. He added that Activision's research points to time spent with friends, not the gunplay, as the thing players value most about Call of Duty, and that the series holds its own on that front.

"If more people are talking about games, if there's more press around it, that's going to be good for everybody, not just us," he said, as quoted by Dexerto.

Bahl didn't go into what Rockstar's own multiplayer plans might mean for that social pitch. For what Rockstar has and hasn't said on that front, see our guide to GTA 6 Online and multiplayer.

Circana's numbers on Modern Warfare 4 and Zelda

GamesRadar+ put Bahl's claim next to data from Circana analyst Mat Piscatella. By his figures, roughly 15% of US console and PC players intend to buy Modern Warfare 4, against 10.4% for The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time remake, which launches on November 5.

The comparison isn't quite like for like. The Zelda remake is a Switch 2 exclusive, yet its figure is measured across all console and PC players. "On a per potential player rate, the intent on Ocarina is far higher," Piscatella said.

GamesRadar+ also notes that purchase intent for Modern Warfare 4 trails last year's Black Ops 7. Its conclusion: Call of Duty probably still outsells Zelda, but next to GTA 6 the gap between the two barely registers.

Black Ops 7 and Call of Duty's next sub-franchise

Bahl was frank about last year's entry. According to Dexerto, he acknowledged that Black Ops 7 didn't meet player expectations and said Activision heard that feedback "loud and clear." He also said the next Call of Duty will start a new sub-franchise rather than continue Modern Warfare or Black Ops. He gave no further details on it.

None of this comes from Rockstar or Take-Two, which haven't commented on sharing the season with Call of Duty. For GTA 6's exact unlock times in your region, see our release date and launch times guide.