In a disappointing, though unsurprising move overnight Rockstar Games has announced that Grand Theft Auto VI (GTA VI) has been delayed until May26, 2026

Previously announced as releasing at the end of 2025, Rockstar Games announced the move on their website overnight saying

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.

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.

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.

We look forward to sharing more information with you soon.

Sincerely,

Rockstar Games”

The story, as well as the details of their open world games have been a signature of Rockstar Games releases, so the pressure is certainly on to deliver – and after years of half-complete games being released with patches to follow, a lot of gamers are preferring to have developers wait – and Rockstar Games can afford to wait. 

It’s been 12 years since the launch of GTA V, though it has reportedly shipped over 210 million units, earning over $8.5 billion USD, and Red Dead Redemption 2 – which was delayed twice before releasing in October 2018 has generated $1.38 billion USD in revenue. 

The move will likely bring about schedule changes for a number of games as developers seemingly avoided the end of 2025 launch window to avoid competing with what’s expected to be one of the biggest releases of the year – when it actually launches.

Will GTA VI launch on May 26, or will we see another delay? That’s the big question for most gamers who have been waiting over 12 months for a second trailer. It’s a massive release and of course we want to see it done right