GTA 6 Might Not Release Before Another Highly Anticipated RPG Sequel In 2026

With 2026 finally seeing Grand Theft Auto 6‘s planned release in November, many fans are eagerly awaiting Rockstar’s next big project to launch. However, given the developer’s history, there is a very likely chance that GTA 6 could be delayed again, causing fans to wait until the following year. When combined with existing setbacks, there’s room for other awaited games to release ahead of GTA 6 before 2026 ends.

Two delays for GTA 6 have already pushed back the game from an initial 2025 release to the latter half of the following year. The original target of May 2026 was likely moved to further polish for the title, refining every feature and aspect of its sandbox world. Given how ambitious GTA 6 is planned to be, it wouldn’t be surprising if a final, third delay allowed development to perfect the game before its launch.

Kingdom Hearts 4 Might Release Before GTA 6 Before 2026 Ends

Several rumors and leaks have theorized that another highly anticipated game, Kingdom Hearts 4, could release as early as April 2026. This would place the RPG ahead of GTA 6 following the second title’s latest delay, but this is all speculation for now. Pieces of evidence point to this being a slim possibility, but if GTA 6 gets delayed a third time, this turns from something unlikely into a very real future for two games with large audiences that have been waiting for a long time.

Kingdom Hearts 3 released back in 2019, with its sequel being announced formally three years later in 2022. After nearly four years of development, very little has been mentioned about Kingdom Hearts 4, but some signs point to ideal times where its launch would be perfect for Square Enix this year. Some believe the 24th anniversary of the first Kingdom Hearts in March 2026 will mark at least some news, with the most hopeful even believing a release date reveal could be shown around that time.

With the mobile title Kingdom Hearts Missing-Link being cancelled after some delays, Square Enix’s focus on the official sequel might be bigger than ever. This might especially be true as 2026 marks five years since the release of Kingdom Hearts 3 + Re Mind, the last piece of content from the franchise. Given that we only have one trailer hinting at the content of series’ next game, at least getting some more information this year isn’t out of the question.

Most of the theories placing Kingdom Hearts 4 in 2026 come back to prominent leaker Midori, mainly through a post they made a couple of years ago. According to Midori, the planned release window for KH4 is definitively 2026, with Missing-Link originally planned to have collaborations with Fortnite within the same year. While Missing-Link‘s cancellation puts a wrench into some aspects of that theory, Midori’s consistently correct Square Enix leaks have rarely been wrong before.

Possible Delays May Place GTA 6’s Release Far Further Than When People Expect

GTA 6 has the potential to be one of the first AAAA games released for modern consoles, with twice as big of a sandbox as GTA 5 had before it. Combined with online features, missions, and a number of systems to match the rumored record map size, GTA 6 has the same scope as other large titles of past years, such as Cyberpunk 2077 and Elden Ring. As such, the amount of polish it demands to avoid a terrible launch easily account for the delays that have already taken place.

Despite the November 2026 release date, GTA 6 still hasn’t had a gameplay trailer show off any of its ambitious features yet. This bodes poorly to a release this year, as it may mean that some aspects of the game aren’t ready to be shown off from Rockstar’s work. Although a new trailer in 2026 is extremely likely, there is an equal chance that scarce news sets up a third or fourth delay as the release window gets closer and closer.

If GTA 6 happens to get delayed again while Kingdom Hearts 4 gets news around its series anniversary time in Spring 2026, there is a real chance that the latter game has a better chance of actually coming out sooner. This would be a shocking sequence of events, but the more GTA 6 gets pushed back, the more opportunities other anticipated games have at capturing player attention instead.

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