The latest delay to the release of Grand Theft Auto 6, from May 26 to Nov. 19, 2026, is a disappointment — but it’s hardly unexpected. Developer Rockstar Games is well known for long development cycles and multiple delays as it seeks to polish its games. “We’ve never regretted it in retrospect,” Strauss Zelnick, CEO of Rockstar’s parent company Take-Two, told investors after announcing the delay.
GTA 6 has now been delayed twice. Originally projected for release in fall 2025, this was pushed back by six months to May 2026. The new delay sets it back a further six months.
This follows almost exactly the same pattern as Rockstar’s last major release, Red Dead Redemption 2. That game was originally set for release in the second half of 2017. This was then pushed back six months to the first half of 2018. A second delay set its release date for Oct. 26, 2018 — again, a six-month gap.
How about Grand Theft Auto 5? Planned for release in spring 2013, that game was delayed — by six months, more or less — just once, and came out on Sep. 17 the same year. It was only the one delay in this instance, but Rockstar announced it rather late, in January 2013. The gap from official reveal to eventual release was the same as Red Dead Redemption 2: two years. (The PC port of GTA 5 was delayed three times.)
Suffice to say, when it comes to delaying games, Rockstar has form, stretching back decades. Bully was delayed by a whole year. L.A. Noire was delayed three times after Rockstar acquired the project. Max Payne 3 was delayed four times.
So why does GTA 6’s second delay feel particularly painful? There are a few reasons.
Firstly, Rockstar had actually announced a firm release date for the game. With both Red Dead Redemption 2 and GTA 5, it was careful to avoid doing this until it was sure the date would stick, using vague release windows instead. That May 26, 2026 date felt much more tangible, and was an indication that Rockstar really believed it would hit it.
Secondly, the gap between the original reveal — the first trailer, in other words — is longer than we’ve been accustomed to. Red Dead Redemption 2 and GTA 5 both saw the light of day two years after their reveals. For GTA 6, it will be three years (assuming it isn’t delayed again).
Thirdly and most significantly, Rockstar has taken much longer to make this game than even its last two behemoths.
A November 2026 release date means GTA 6 will be released an unfathomable 13 years after its predecessor, and eight years after Rockstar’s last game, Red Dead Redemption 2. By contrast, Red Dead 2 came five years after GTA 5, which came five years after GTA 4.
Ballooning development time for AAA games is a fact of life these days. Given Rockstar’s perfectionism, and the colossal success expected of GTA 6, it’s no surprise that the studio would stretch it to an extreme.
