Every league has its injury report. Steven Adams just filed one for a video game. Speaking at Rockets media day, the Houston center predicted a league-wide slump that has nothing to do with sprained ankles or bad shooting nights. The culprit is GTA 6, and he wants everyone to brace themselves for some upcoming bad news. Media day also doubled as the start of Houston's training camp, and Adams is heading into his third year with the Rockets after ankle surgery in February ended his season early. Consider this his early-warning system for the rest of us too as GTA 6 is going to hit everything from school, college, corporates and yes, the sporting world too.
Adams did not hedge, at least not in the way he told it. "You guys should anticipate November," he said. "The performance of the league, league-wide, GTA is dropping. So look at the NFL, look at all the leagues, and watch them plummet, mate. Just for the month of November, performance is gonna go down."
However, all is not doom and gloom. GTA 6 frenzy will cool down. He then handed out a recovery timeline. "It should come back up, though. Most of the boys will get it done. Hopefully they finish the game.... The coaching and scouts are going to be horrendous, just for November, but it should bounce back in December, hopefully."
Here's the bit that makes the joke land. Rockstar's game arrives Nov. 19 on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S, with preloads opening a week earlier on Nov. 12. That is roughly a month into the NBA regular season and right in the thick of the NFL schedule.
Meanwhile, about 5.28 million pre-orders have already been placed since they opened globally on June 25. Also, Rockstar Games and Atlantic Records have announced Grand Theft Auto VI: The Album, featuring 34 original songs, which drops the same day as the game on Nov. 19.