Why Rockstar can’t afford to delay GTA 6 again.

By Nathan Devlin.  

Grand Theft Auto or GTA for short is games publisher Rockstar Games longest running series spanning 15 games across almost 30 years since its inception in the late 1990s. The first in the series was launched in 1997, to the latest GTA 5 launched in 2013, the most popular in the series. GTA 5 has sold more than 210 million copies and is the bestselling game in the United States over the past 10 years.  

Not long after its September 17 release Rockstar realised the online mode for GTA 5. First introduced in GTA 4 The online/multiplayer mode allowed players to roam a set map freely. Liberty City (GTA 4) the Rockstar equivalent to New York City. For GTA 5 Rockstar chose a new setting Los Santos, their city inspired by Los Angeles.  On its first day October 1, 2013, 360,000 played. In 2025 4.2 million players log on to GTA online daily.  

In March of 2022 Rockstar announced that a standalone version of GTA online would be released for the new generation of consoles (Xbox Series X and S and the PlayStation 5.) This standalone version dubbed ‘expanded and enhanced’ allowed players on new consoles to jump straight into GTA online instead of having to play the few short story missions before reaching online. This version was not available for old generation consoles (Xbox One and PlayStation 4.) 

 Just in the fiscal year of 2025, GTA online across all platforms made $710 million. As of 2025 Rockstar Games and their parent company Take Two Interactive has made $9.54 billion from GTA 5.  

In December 2023 Rockstar announced GTA 6. The game was set to be released in Autum 2025. However, in May of 2025 the game was officially delayed to 26 May 2026 after months of speculation. November 6, 2025, GTA 6 is delayed to November 19, 2026.

 Strauss Zelnick, CEO of Take Two Interactive, said: “[This will give] the team some additional time to finish the game with the high level of polish players expect and deserve. Rockstar has our full support of course, and we are confident they will deliver an unrivalled blockbuster entertainment experience.”  

When questioned as to why the team needed extra time Zelnick said: "To deliver at the level of quality you expect and deserve."  

Both trailers for GTA 6 set records. The first set the record was the most watched game reveal trailer with 93 million views. The second trailer surpassed 475 million views in 24 hours.  

The reaction from the game community was overwhelmingly negative. Many joked that the game will never come with others saying they are tired of waiting and will not be buying the game when it finally releases.  

It only took a week into 2026 before talks of another delay were reported. Gaming Journalist Jason Scheirer made an appearance on the Button Mash gaming podcast. He said: “The last I heard, it was still not content complete. That is to say, people were still finishing things up, still finalising levels and missions, and seeing what is going to make it into the game. It’s really hard to say right now, and I don’t think anyone at Rockstar can tell you, with 100% certainty, that they will make it out in November."  

If there was any comfort to take from this it is that Rockstar see the November 26 release date as “a little more solid.” It is important to note that Take Two Interactive have their next earnings call on February 3, typically when updates are given in relation to GTA 6.  

The reason the continual delay of GTA 6 is significant is the impact it has on the gaming industry. The impact of these delays has reportedly already cost the gaming industry an estimated $3 billion and that figure is only set to rise in the next 10 months before the game’s reported release. Sales for Xbox series consoles in the UK dropped by an estimated 39% in 2025 compared to 2024.  Sales for the PlayStation 5 also dropped by 12% in 2025.  

Rockstar also damages other games studios with their delays as many games companies push or move their release windows so as to not directly compete with release of GTA 6. For example, Microsoft and Turn 10 studios car game Forza Horizon 6 was announced with a release date of 2026. Many have speculated that this is because the studio is waiting to see what happens with GTA 6 before deciding on when to release their game.  

Studios do this to avoid direct competition with Rockstar titles as when a Rockstar title launches most gamers choose to play that over anything else. In Forza Horizon 6’s case they and GTA share the car community so if Turn 10 was to release Horizon 6 at the same time GTA 6 dropped it would be likely that no players would choose Horizon over GTA. This is why it's crucial that Rockstar set a concrete date and stick to it not only for their benefit but also for the benefit of other studios.