Grand Theft Auto 6 has been delayed for a second time, with Rockstar Games announcing that the release date has been pushed back to November 19, 2026.
The game was previously scheduled for May 26, 2026, a date that had generated excitement among fans who noted it coincided with the funeral of Bonnie and Clyde, the outlaws thought to have inspired the game’s two protagonists.
“We are sorry for adding additional time to what we realise has been a long wait, but these extra months will allow us to finish the game with the level of polish you have come to expect and deserve,” Rockstar Games said in a statement.
GTA 6 delayed to November 2026 as Rockstar seeks perfection
“We want to thank you again for your patience and support. While the wait is a little longer, we are incredibly excited for players to experience the sprawling state of Leonida and a return to modern day Vice City,” the statement added.
Strauss Zelnick, boss of Rockstar’s parent company Take-Two Interactive, told investors that those working on the game were “seeking perfection”.
Rockstar Games confirmed it was working on GTA 6 in February 2022. The developer released a trailer almost 18 months later, in 2023, stating the game would arrive in 2025.
The trailer revealed that the game features two protagonists, Jason and Lucia, who are a couple. The setting is Leonida, a state based on Florida.
The game was then pushed back to May 26, 2026 before this week’s announcement of a further delay to November 2026.
Record-breaking hype meets high standards
Both of GTA 6’s trailers have broken YouTube viewership records, and the game tops lists of the public’s most-anticipated releases.
Zelnick has said that each release from Rockstar needs to wow players. The studio’s last release, Red Dead Redemption 2, came out in 2018 and is still considered a benchmark for open-world games due to its depth and attention to detail.
Both Red Dead Redemption 2 and 2013’s GTA 5 were delayed twice. The studio is known for its high standards and for breaking new ground with its games.
Existing titles continue to generate revenue
GTA 5 is the second best-selling game of all time and continues to sell 13 years after release. It sold 730,000 copies in the UK last year, according to the Entertainment Retail Association.
Red Dead Redemption 2 sold 350,000 copies in the UK in the same period. Both games ranked in 2024’s top ten for video game sales.
GTA Online, the multiplayer mode, continues to rank among the world’s most-played games each month. It has been credited with bringing in a portion of the $8.9bn (£6.7bn) the series has made since GTA 5’s release.
Take Two said this week that it had seen a decline in GTA Online’s numbers. Experts have told BBC Newsbeat that the success of GTA 6 will be measured by how well it manages to lure players over to its own online mode.
What happens next
GTA 6 is expected to be one of the most expensive video games of all time.
The game’s development has become more complex and more expensive, factors that affect any company making a blockbuster video game.
The gap between releases has been widening across the industry. For Rockstar, maintaining its reputation appears to be a priority.
