The developer's highly anticipated Grand Theft Auto VI, initially set to arrive on the 26th of May the coming year, has been delayed again – this time to the end of 2026. It has now been nearly two years since the title's announcement, and over a dozen years since Grand Theft Auto V first hit the gaming scene.
“GTA VI will now release on November 19, 2026, a Thursday,” states the company's official statement on social media. “We are sorry for imposing extra months to what we recognize has been a protracted anticipation, but these extra months will enable us to finish the game with the level of polish you have grown accustomed to and deserve.”
The eagerly awaited title features a intimately linked duo of criminals named Jason and Lucia in the developer's sun-bleached version of the city of Miami, Vice City, and the broader Florida-like state of Leonida. Development has been underway at Rockstar North in Edinburgh, with assistance from the company’s other studios in NY and worldwide, since 2018. Its original release window was late 2025.
It has been anticipated that GTA VI would reinvigorate an ailing gaming sector, which has experienced a decline after a pandemic-driven surge. Based on publishing giant Take-Two Interactive's most recent financial reports, its forerunner GTA V has generated $8.6 billion since its debut in 2013. Rockstar’s last game, the highly praised Red Dead Redemption II, was released in 2018 and achieved $725m in sales over its opening weekend.
Gamers, meanwhile, have had a very long time to anticipate the developer's newest release: even by the norms of the gaming industry, where half-decade long developments for major titles are not unusual, the more than 12-year wait for GTA VI has been extensive.
