The wait for Grand Theft Auto VI just got longer. Rockstar Games dropped a bombshell on May 2, 2025, announcing the game’s release is now pinned for May 26, 2026—a six-month slide from its earlier fall 2025 target. Fans, already antsy after more than a decade since GTA V hit shelves, are left pacing for another year.
The news came straight from Rockstar’s website, a brief post that carried the weight of a sledgehammer. The developer didn’t mince words, saying the delay is about delivering “the level of quality you expect and deserve.” They acknowledged the frenzy around the game, calling the hype “truly humbling,” and promised more details soon. No specifics on what’s holding things up—just a plea for patience and a nod to their perfectionist streak.
This isn’t Rockstar’s first rodeo with delays. GTA V, a juggernaut that’s sold over 210 million copies since its 2013 debut, was pushed back multiple times before landing. The pattern holds for GTA VI, which has been teased since a 2022 confirmation that development was “well underway.” A December 2023 trailer, which racked up 93 million YouTube views in 24 hours, set the stage in Vice City—a fictional Miami—and introduced Lucia, the series’ first female lead, alongside a male partner in a Bonnie-and-Clyde vibe. Since then, radio silence, save for this delay.
The ripple effect is already hitting. Take-Two Interactive, Rockstar’s parent company, saw its stock plummet 8% in premarket trading on May 2, a gut punch to investors banking on GTA VI to fuel growth. The game’s shift to Take-Two’s 2027 fiscal year, starting April 2026, scrambles financial forecasts. Still, Take-Two’s CEO, Strauss Zelnick, backed the move, saying it’s about crafting a “groundbreaking, blockbuster” experience. The company’s betting on other titles like Borderlands 4 and Mafia: The Old Country to fill the 2025 gap.
The gaming world feels the quake too. Publishers had been dodging GTA VI’s shadow, holding off on 2025 release dates to avoid getting steamrolled. Now, with the fall window open, expect a flurry of announcements—maybe at Summer Game Fest in June. Sony, which locked in an October 2025 slot for Ghost of Yōtei, and EA, eyeing a Battlefield drop, might breathe easier.
For now, GTA VI is set for PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S, with no word on a PC version. Rockstar’s history suggests PC players could wait months, maybe years, after the console launch. The game’s return to Vice City, last seen in 2002’s Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, will sprawl across Leonida, a Florida-inspired state, packed with satire and crime-fueled chaos.
Fans are left hanging, some frustrated after banking on a 2025 release. The delay, announced on May 2, 2025, pushes GTA VI to May 26, 2026, exactly 4,634 days since GTA V’s launch on September 17, 2013. Rockstar’s next update, possibly at Take-Two’s May 15 earnings call, is the only lifeline for answers.