GTA 6 Is Supposed to Release in Exactly One Year (But Will It Really?)

Grand Theft Auto VI will be released one year from today, but there are doubts that Rockstar Games will actually hit this date. GTA 6 is the most anticipated game of all-time and will likely be a record-breaking release. There is an ungodly level of anticipation for it and Rockstar’s ambition will have to meet the lofty expectations that it has set for itself in previous games. However, it has been a long road to get this game. For starters, there will be 13 years between GTA 5 and GTA 6, but also eight years between Red Dead Redemption 2 and GTA 6. That’s a big gap that has left people waiting for a while.

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Earlier this year, Rockstar finally started to give us more details on GTA 6 with the game’s second trailer, which gives more insight into the story, characters, and world. Said trailer was paired with a new May 2026 release date and a plethora of screenshots for fans to mull over. It was a treasure trove of content to tide people over after the game was originally scheduled for a 2025 release. Just 6 months later, Rockstar announced that GTA 6 would be delayed once more to November 19th, 2025. Fans were upset, as the game was starting to look imminent once again, only for it to be pushed back yet again. Now, we are once again one year away from GTA 6… but is it for real this time?

**Will GTA 6 Actually Release on November 19th, 2026?**

At the risk of this article aging like milk, I am willing to say that GTA 6 will probably release in November 2026. Rumors regarding the reason for GTA 6‘s delay indicate that the game is “content ready”, meaning a lot of the work being done right now is fine-tuning and polishing the game. Of course, these are just rumors, and we can’t say that’s the case for certain, but assuming that is the case, that gives the studio a full year to tidy up the game. Although Rockstar is seeking perfection with an ambitious game like GTA 6, that will never be fully possible given the nature of game development, and one day, the studio will have to let the game go.

It seems unlikely they’d torture fans any longer than this, given the game has already gone through one full year of delays. It was even theorized that the game was once supposed to be out by spring 2025 due to Take-Two projecting an excessively large amount of revenue during that window, something really only possible with the release of something like GTA 6. Rockstar also has a history of delaying its games publicly twice, which GTA 6 has now done. A third GTA 6 delay would be largely unheard of for Rockstar, but I suppose nothing with this game is particularly standard.

Additionally, the general window of GTA 6‘s new release date is one that Rockstar has used before. Grand Theft Auto V was released for Xbox One and PS4 on November 18th, 2014, LA Noire: Complete Edition was released on November 15th, 2011 for Xbox 360 and PS3, and Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy – The Definitive Edition was released on November 11th, 2021. It’s unclear if there is some kind of strategic reason for the mid-November release window, but it may have to do with getting the game out in time for the holiday season.

**Could GTA 6 Be Delayed to 2027 (And When Might it Release)?**

So, could GTA 6 actually be delayed again? Of course. Nothing is off limits here, but I don’t think another delay would be as severe. Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick, who owns Rockstar Games, noted to The Game Business earlier this month that he is confident in the new release date. However, the more notable part of his quote is the fact that he reassures people that the game is still launching in the same fiscal year.

“We feel really good about this release date,” said Zelnick. “It’s in the same fiscal year, it happens to be a great release window, and naturally, we’re really supportive of Rockstar’s approach.”

Take-Two’s 2027 fiscal year will end on March 31st, 2027, meaning that if GTA 6 slips again, it would likely be released before then. It would be a delay of a few months and likely fall in January or February. Zelnick seems to want this game to release during the next fiscal year, and so will investors. Although there is a lot of talk about supporting Rockstar’s ambitions and making sure the game gets the time it needs, GTA 6 is an extremely important part of a large business. It will need to be released eventually otherwise it will become a financial black hole.

Take-Two’s stocks took a notable hit after the last delay, with the price dropping nearly $20 in just a few trading days. It has bounced back a bit since then, but it hasn’t returned to its previous price point. Another delay could result in more temporary damage to the stock, but at the same time, a disastrous release for GTA 6 would be even worse. So, unless GTA 6 is in a really bad state, it’s hard to imagine it being pushed beyond February or March 2027 at the very latest.

All we can do is speculate with the information and insights we have, though. We’ll have to wait and see what happens, but for now… GTA 6 is exactly one year away. GTA 6 will release on November 19th for Xbox Series X|S and PS5. What do you think? Leave a comment below and join the conversation now in the ComicBook Forum!