In a move bound to piss off every publisher that shifted their games into 2026 to avoid Grand Theft Auto, Rockstar has announced that its upcoming behemoth GTA 6 has been delayed until 2026.
The new release date is May 26, 2026.
“We are very sorry that this is later than you expected. The interest and excitement surrounding a new Grand Theft Auto has been truly humbling for our entire team. We want to thank you for your support and your patience as we work to finish the game,” said the announcement on Rockstar’s website.
“With every game we have released, the goal has always been to try and exceed your expectations, and Grand Theft Auto VI is no exception. We hope you understand that we need this extra time to deliver at the level of quality you expect and deserve.”
It seems like this delay might have been know about internally for quite a while. Noted nosy person and gaming journalist Jason Schreier of Bloomberg posted on BlueSky that, “Nobody I’ve talked to at Rockstar has believed Fall 2025 was a real window for a very long time now.”
Nobody I’ve talked to at Rockstar has believed Fall 2025 was a real window for a very long time now. Too much work, not enough time, and what appears to be a real desire from management to avoid brutal crunch. GTA VI slipping to 2026 has seemed inevitable for months if not longer
— Jason Schreier (@jasonschreier.bsky.social) 2 May 2025 at 12:40
According to Jason, there is just “Too much work, not enough time,” but that Rockstar’s credit there appears to be a “real desire from management to avoid brutal crunch.”
He goes on to say that the release date slipping has seemed inevitable for “months, if not longer”.
I can only image that there are now heaps of publishers and developers crying into their keyboards after already delaying their own games into 2026 in an effort to avoid releasing anywhere near GTA 6.