I hate everything about this logic. I can sort of understand multiplayer stuff needing momentum, though that's usually nonsense too, but acknowledging it and saying you're scared to "compete" with completely different games is corny as hell.
Just make a good game and release it when it's ready. If it's actually good, people are going to figure it out.
If they release two games at once then those games compete with each other for sales. Some people may purchase one but feel disinclined to purchase the other regardless of its quality because they can't afford both or think the purchases are too close to each other.
This is what has created "hidden gems" in the past, one game completely overshadowing everything else, despite some of the other games possibly being better.
That's why publishers try to release certain games around some games but not others. The same thing happens with movies. Disney's Treasure Planet is a good example. Its a movie that would typically release in the Summer, which Disney released in the Winter and in theatres where it competed with another Disney film, The Santa Claus 2. Treasure Planet went on to be known as one of the biggest animated box office flops ever, losing Disney an estimated $109 million.
This is so dumb. Most people are not going to play all of these games. They will likely only play one to three of them all together. Pushing the release date back solely based on the misguided assumption that gamers buy every game released is absolutely frustrating.
I only see two of these I'll even consider buying and only after I read reviews from actual players and not paid reviews. 😒