One of The Year’s Most Anticipated New Games Is Looking Like the Next GTA 6 (And Not in a Good Way)

It’s no secret that fans have been waiting for the next Grand Theft Auto for quite some time. GTA 5 released in 2018, and development on the sequel began just a few years later. Though GTA 6 was not formally confirmed until 2022, gamers have been waiting for it for nearly 10 years. It doesn’t help that the game has been delayed twice, though it is currently expected to finally cross the finish line with its November 2026 release date. And that means the mantle of “game we’ve been waiting on the longest” is about to be up for grabs.

Of course, there are plenty of games that fans have been waiting on for nearly as long or longer than GTA 6. One big example that comes to mind from my own wishlist is The Elder Scrolls 6, which was first confirmed way back in 2018. The difference there, though, is that Bethesda has been pretty quiet since revealing the game. No release date delays or info has really gotten fans’ hopes up. The same can’t be said for the highly anticipated magical life sim, Witchbrook. That game, originally slated for a 2025 release, could become the next GTA 6.

Witchbrook Has Been in Development for 10 Years, and Fans Are Equal Parts Hyped and Anxious

In terms of sheer length of wait, Witchbrook has already got GTA 6 beat. Though fans have been waiting on the sequel since GTA 5, it wasn’t formally announced until just a few years ago. By comparison, Witchbrook was teased way back in 2016 and has been on the wishlist of many cozy gamers ever since. After its early days as codename Project Spellbound, Witchbrook got its current name in 2018. But fans had precious little reason to believe the game would ever come to fruition until its surprise reappearance in early 2025.

When Witchbrook showed up in the Nintendo Direct early last year, it came with a release window attached. The new trailer showed a lot of promise, and fans like me were more than ready to jump into the witchy life sim in 2025. And at first, signs pointed to an on-time release. Until they didn’t. Long before the delay was officially confirmed, fans began to suspect that Witchbrook would not hit its “winter 2025” release window. And indeed, the game got its first delay, with a new vague window of 2026.

Now, several months into the year, we have had a few sporadic updates from Chucklefish. But with no concrete details emerging, would-be magic school students are starting to wonder whether the hype for this game is ever going to pay off. In that way, it feels a lot like the meme that waiting for GTA 6 has become. I’ve even seen a few people making “we got X before Witchbrook” jokes in preparation for the wait.

Fans Are Already Bracing for the next Witchbrook Delay

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Recently, fans in the game’s official Discord got a vague update from Chucklefish about Witchbrook‘s release. And it has many of us bracing for a second delay, which would put the game on track for at least as many delays as GTA 6 (provided Rockstar doesn’t push its title back again). In the update, Chuckelfish explains why it hasn’t given a specific release date for Witchbrook despite the number of people eagerly waiting for news about the game.

“We won’t be announcing a specific date until we’re completely confident and happy with where the game is,” notes the Chucklefish Discord account. The message goes on to add that “we’re still aiming for a 2026 release.” And that choice of words has Witchbrook fans worried that a second delay is almost definitely coming. As one Redditor puts it, “We’ll get GTA 6 before Witchbrook.” And with Rockstar’s anticipated release theoretically coming out this November, that’s starting to look pretty plausible.

Personally, I was hoping for an October 2026 release when I realized that 2025 was almost certainly not happening. Now, I’m not so sure. “Aiming for a 2026 release” does feel like careful wording, and it feels almost like the soft launch for another delay. After almost 10 years of waiting, it seems the game’s potential fanbase is split between those who are still hyped for the game and those who’ve given up hope. But I suspect that, like the arrival of a new GTA 6 trailer, any big news from Witchbrook will bring the hype right back. Unless, of course, it’s the second delay that many of us believe is imminent.

What game have you been waiting the longest to play? Leave a comment below and join the conversation now in the ComicBook Forum!