- Activision CMO Tyler Bahl says GTA 6 and Modern Warfare 4 are the "two biggest games of the year".
- He doesn't consider The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time Remake in the same category, adding, "No offense to Zelda."
- Modern Warfare 4 launches on October 23, 2026, two weeks before the Zelda remake and four weeks before GTA 6.
While developers are busy moving their games out of the way of GTA 6 and The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time Remake, Activision is taking a different approach. The Call of Duty publisher thinks GTA 6 and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 are 2026’s biggest games, not the Zelda remake.
Speaking to The Game Business, Activision’s Chief Marketing Officer Tyler Bahl acknowledged the intense competition in releasing a game close to both GTA 6 and The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time Remake. However, he’s incredibly optimistic, saying, “Well, no offense to Zelda, but [GTA and COD] are the two biggest games of the year.”
More people coming in to the dashboards, more people taking the dust off their Xbox or PlayStation and playing again, is going to be more eyeballs for us overall.
It’s a pretty bold claim, since Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 releases on October 23, 2026, two weeks before the Zelda remake arrives on November 5, and four weeks before GTA 6 debuts on November 19. However, Bahl says, “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.”
Modern Warfare 4 has one big advantage over GTA 6 and the Zelda Remake despite both being among the year’s biggest games: a PC launch. With GTA 6 not expected on PC until 2027, and Nintendo never porting games to PC, Activision could win over players on both platforms eager for a new blockbuster.
But Modern Warfare 4’s nearly 120GB install size, even without Warzone, could put some players off. That’s not to say the new Call of Duty won’t succeed, but whether it can hold its ground against GTA 6 and the Zelda remake remains to be seen.
That said, do you think GTA 6 and Call of Duty are the two biggest games of the year, ahead of the Zelda remake? Or is Activision too overconfident? Tell us in the comments section below.
