If, for some reason, you were building your entire life around playing the upcoming Grand Theft Auto VI, we have some bad news for you: Rockstar has officially confirmed that the crime-filled open world title that was originally projected to launch this fall is instead being delayed into next year, launching on May 26th, 2026, instead.
“We are very sorry that this is later than you expected,” the studio writes. “With every game we have released, the goal has always been to try and exceed your expectations, and Grand Theft Auto VI is no exception. We hope you understand that we need this extra time to deliver at the level of quality you expect and deserve.”
If you’ve been paying attention, the writing for this delay has been on the wall for some time now: Concerns about its development first bubbled up in 2024, when sources claimed internal delays were hamstringing the project, which likely caused the developer to mandate a return to office work that same year. But now that RTO requirement is ending in a delay anyway.
As for why we’re covering this to begin with: Like everyone else, we’re assuming that GTA6 will ultimately offer its own version of the multiplayer GTA Online because the current GTAO prints money and Rockstar likes money, though publisher Take-Two Interactive’s CEO has said that it supports legacy online games “when the consumers are involved with those titles,” so there ideally will be at least one open-world crimsim going. But now we’re just all likely going to have to wait until next year to know one way or the other.
