GTA 6 isn’t ruling out a delay to 2026 if it’s absolutely necessary. Rockstar Games is one of the few developers in the world that can take as long as it wants on its projects. Not only does it have the financial means to work until it’s ready, but the studio has also developed a reputation where a new trailer or announcement is an event. It doesn’t need E3 or other events to show off a new game, which has allowed the studio a unique opportunity to speak when it has something to say rather than when they feel investors or the audience demand them to.
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Of course, this has caused some frustration among fans who waited years for the GTA 6 trailer. Fans were hopeful that after trailer one, there’d be more consistent marketing for the highly anticipated game, but that may not be the case. It has been over a year since the first trailer and Rockstar hasn’t uttered a peep about GTA 6 which is slated for 2025. Naturally, gamers being the fearful and impatient bunch that they are have begun to worry that this could mean GTA 6 is going to be delayed to 2026. It is Rockstar tradition to announce a release window for a game and then delay it, but that hasn’t officially happened with this game quite yet.
A GTA 6 Delay is Possible
Rockstar Games owner Take-Two Interactive has since come out and attempted to squash concerns that a delay is coming. During its February 2025 investors call, Take-Two confirmed that GTA 6 is slated for a fall 2025 release date. However, that doesn’t mean there isn’t wiggle room to delay it if Rockstar needs it. When speaking with IGN, Take-Two Interactive CEO Strauss Zelnick said that delay is possible and he doesn’t want to jinx anything by calling the fall 2025 release a guarantee.
“Look, there’s always a risk of slippage and I think as soon as you say words like absolutely, you jinx things,” Zelnick responded when IGN asked how confident he was that Rockstar will hit fall 2025 for GTA 6. “So we feel really good about it. […] I think the game is eagerly anticipated both internally and externally. We know that Rockstar seeks perfection. I never claim success before it occurs. I’m fond of saying arrogance is the enemy of continued success, so we’re all running scared and looking over our shoulders and we know that the competition is not asleep. Our whole organization is super excited.”
This isn’t totally surprising. The game is roughly less than 10 months away from releasing if it hits that fall window. GTA 6 is expected to be a massive hit and will be no matter when it releases. However, there are all kinds of reasons why a game like this could be delayed in the final hour. Games like Batman: Arkham Knight and Uncharted 4 were delayed just weeks before being released. Sometimes games just need that extra layer of polish and it may not be something a team can realize until late in the process.
Either way, it sounds like GTA 6 is approaching the finish line. Whether that finish line is in the fall or early 2026 remains to be seen. Take-Two seems pretty confident that Rockstar Games will ship GTA 6 this year, though. We may not know a concrete date for GTA 6 until spring time, ahead of Take-Two’s next investors call in May. It’s likely that when that happens, a lot of other studios will also begin planning out their fall. Games like Battlefield 6 are currently waiting for GTA 6 to stake its claim in the calendar before marking a date simply due to the fact it will absolutely consume the gaming industry when Rockstar releases it.
