GTA 6 Ain’t Releasing in 2026. If Rockstar Somehow Pulls That Off, I’ll Eat My Hat.

Listen, GTA 6 isn’t coming out next year. You know it. I know it. The industry knows it. But on the off-chance GTA 6 does release in 2026, the industry will plan to scramble around it, and it will do more harm than good. 2025 is proof of that with the most barren November I’ve ever seen. 2026 will be more of the same, and that’s a big problem when the game isn’t coming out until 2027 at the very least. And you may say I’m wrong, you may boo me, but I’ve been through this rodeo before and I know it ain’t over yet.

GTA 6 is easily one of the most anticipated games of all time, and I hate that phrasing. Every time I write it, I feel the urge to explain that “of all time” is incredibly stupid hyperbole. If someone is the Greatest of All Time (no hate to the GOATs all the same), then that means they can never be surpassed, ever, in skill, talent, etc. The same applies to video games. If something is the most anticipated of all time, that means nothing, ever, could surpass that anticipation. And while I would maintain that would also necessitate the death of the game industry, I would also acknowledge that GTA 6 is a bit ridiculous in hype, and we all need a major reset. But I digress. It is the most anticipated game of all time, today and probably every day thereafter, and the developments around it mean it ain’t coming out soon.

I’m as excited to play it as the next person, even though I maintain the golden rule of gaming: anything can flop. GTA 6 could flop. I don’t think it will, and Rockstar’s pedigree gives me every reason I need to quell my doubts, but rushing to release is definitely how you do that. Ultimately, however, there are several reasons (just off the top of my head) that make me think it’s not a 2026 game.

The Timeline Doesn’t Add Up as Neatly as You Think

Video Game Development Has Only Gotten Longer

“But Joshua it’s been years.” Nah, homie. You think it’s been years, but that doesn’t equate to development time. I am…getting ahead of myself since I plan to go more in depth in a minute, but Cyberpunk 2077‘s first teaser trailer was in January 2013—and it didn’t come out until 2020. It wasn’t worked on, in full, that entire time despite some lingering misconceptions; CDPR did not start, in full, until late 2016 by all reports. Does that explain a lot? It sure does because a lot of consumers do not know this information, even when companies are open with it (and most are not). So, the question here is: when did Rockstar start on GTA 6 in earnest?

GTA 5 came out in 2013, Red Dead 2 came out in 2018, and game development has only gotten longer over the years. By all reports…

• Preliminary, pre-production work began on GTA 5 in April 2008. Its period of full development was roughly three years, meaning it began around 2010, with 1000 people from across multiple studios working on it heading into its 2013 release.
• Preliminary, pre-production work on Red Dead 2 began shortly after the first game released in 2010, but full development did not begin until 2013-2014. Roughly speaking, that means Red Dead 2 was in full development for about five years, with the game spending over 8 years across every phase of development. Red Dead 2 had over 2000 core developers and an excess of crunch, or 100+ hour workweeks.

• Dutch sure does have a plan

Rockstar’s crunch culture is well-reported, as well as its attempt to move away from said culture. Even then, there are still issues around Rockstar and its employees. While GTA 6 doesn’t uphold the same level of attention to detail and other costly factors as Red Dead 2 did, it’s worth pointing out the massive number of devs, the massive amount of crunch, and the long period of full development. Also worth pointing out is that development has only gotten longer in recent years, after Rockstar’s release cadence slowed down. If Rockstar is indeed moving away from this level of mismanagement, then there’s a lot of weight on the question of “when did Rockstar start on GTA 6 in earnest?”

It’s worth noting that development timelines aren’t usually well-known until post-release, but based on available information, Rockstar began preliminary work on GTA 6 in 2014, early development did not begin until 2018, and full development did not begin until sometime in 2020. If it followed the same development timeline as the past two Rockstar games, it would already be out. The fact that it isn’t can likely be attributed to, hopefully, less crunch and longer periods of development. You might think six years is possible, going from the 2020 date, but considering the other factors and GTA 6‘s insane graphics, among everything else, I am just not a 2026 believer.

Its Current Release Date is Already a Lie

I wish we lived in a world where those who financially backed video games actually cared about the quality of the product, but the doomer in me knows that shareholders only care about dollar signs, not the quality of a game. I don’t need to justify that statement; every instance of development hell and battle pass inclusions and battle royale releases and trend chasing is evidence of that. Video game release date announcements are for those folks, not for gamers.

Rockstar doesn’t need more revenue, given the cash cow that is Red Dead Online, but in an industry that demands infinite growth, Rockstar is the easiest and safest bet with its games like GTA. I would not be surprised to find heavy monetization even in the single-player campaign of GTA 6, but that’s neither here nor there. The fact is, Rockstar’s initial announcement was to drum up even more funding and interest, and it probably had very little to do with the game itself.

Case in point: In August, the CEO of Take-Two Interactive (Rockstar’s parent company) Strauss Zelnick said his “level of conviction is very, very high” regarding GTA 6‘s May 2026 release date. Only a few months later, the game was delayed from May to November. Zelnick was speaking for those already monetarily invested in GTA 6, not you and me who would dole out however much money once it actually comes out. In other words, the May release date we had was a maintained lie for business reasons, and we have no indication that the November release date is also not just for business reasons. Lie might be a strong word, but any release date that is not set in stone has to omit key factors.

We Haven’t Seen The Game Part of the Game

If you work in games media long enough, you’ll soon learn big announcements happen when you’re away. I don’t remember why, but that was the case with the recent GTA 6 delay announcement. I couldn’t pay a lot of attention to what was happening, so I did ask the logical question to Managing Editor Dalton Cooper at the time. After learning the new date, I asked, “Did Rockstar give us any new trailers? gameplay?” Cooper told me they dropped two. I was excited, it was more than I expected, but still, you’d think delaying it would at least come with more information.

It did not. He trolled me.

And still, while we have gotten a good look at GTA 6‘s protagonists (Lucia at least) and GTA 6‘s setting of Vice City and Leonida, we haven’t seen gameplay. This is easily one of the most trumpeted red flags in game marketing, and yet no one sounds this alarm because it’s GTA 6. Well, I would love to see some GTA 6 gameplay. Of course, I maintain GTA 6 could show nothing else, shadow drop tomorrow, and it’ll still be the biggest day in the industry ever, but if it’s going to slowly market itself, well dang, you’d think a game with less than a year to release and years since the announcement would show some gameplay.

Insiders Won’t Confirm the 2026 Release Date

Listen, I know as much as you dear reader. I do not have some buddy up at Rockstar leaking me info. I do not have some magical insight other than what’s afforded to me by god or by nature. But I do know that if something talks the talk but doesn’t walk the walk, something’s up.

Recently, Reece ‘Kiwi Talkz’ Reilly said recent rumors of a GTA 6 delay into 2027 were unfounded. That’s true enough. I am not basing what I am saying on any rumor. I know of no credible sources claiming this now, and for good reason. As Reilly says, “I can confirm that GTA 6 is still too far out to determine if another delay is needed yet.”

Look me in the eyes. This is not a confirmation that a delay won’t happen, it is not a confirmation of the 2026 release date, it is just an acknowledgement that he (and presumably his sources) do not know if it will happen yet. However, this carries a major implication. Look me in the eyes. If it is too early to know if GTA 6 will need another delay, it is too early to know if it will make its release date.

That’s it. That’s enough for me to say GTA 6 isn’t a 2026 game.

Did We Forget What Happened with Cyberpunk 2077?

I know Cyberpunk 2077 was able to pull off a miraculous redemption and it is a fantastic game today, but it is not the revolutionary, genre-shifting, genre-defining, greatest RPG of all time that many thought it would be a decade ago. When it launched in 2020, it was a bad game. It is a great, fantastic game now, but it is not the RPG of all RPGs. And I say this because I see a lot of parallels between what happened with Cyberpunk and what is happening with GTA 6.

Both had hype well before marketing truly began in earnest. Both had major, prestigious reveals. Both built anticipation to a point that nothing would satisfy. A lot of messaging from Cyberpunk 2077 (specifically around release dates and delays) came from executives pushing through for their backers, with reports of developers not understanding or thinking they could hit the release dates surfacing. Meanwhile, Zelnick is the only face thus far associated with GTA 6. GTA 6 probably has way more backing than Cyberpunk did. And when fans finally saw Cyberpunk in action, it was a major downgrade. I’m just saying—we’ve yet to see GTA 6 in action, and we do not have a proper face for it. We are not hearing from developers; we’re seeing super-focused, super cinematic, super marketable trailers and Zelnick talking to corporate folks. Where the people at?

And at this point, there are two things I want to highlight. First, the wave of GTA 6 delay rumors in September (which did happen two months later), Bloomberg reporter Jason Schreier said, “Six staff told me they weren’t *informed* of a delay. For all I know, Rockstar’s executive team could have decided months ago to delay GTA VI without telling the company. But the lack of internal announcement suggests that the Twitter rumor was nonsense.”

Whether this happened that way or not is unknown, but the acknowledgment of possible miscommunication (or possible absolute lack thereof for communication) between the executive team and development team is exactly what happened with Cyberpunk. It’s less definitive for GTA 6 because of course it is. It’s Rockstar and Take-Two. The fact that we’ve only heard from an executive team, not a development team, remains highly suspicious in my eyes.

The second thing is how, when GTA 6 was delayed to November, Schreier said the delay was not due to the Rockstar firings, but how those vacant roles could have “a long-term impact on the project and lead to more missed deadlines in the future — due to those vacant roles, protracted legal battles, morale loss, etc. — the game did not slip 6 months because 34 people were fired a week ago. It was announced today because Take-Two reported earnings today.”

Said, possible long-term impact on top of typical, unforeseeable long-term impacts in game development? Call that a double whammy of possible poor planning, not all that different from reports regarding Cyberpunk 2077‘s development. (But big shout-outs to CDPR for being able to bring it back on track and, hopefully, plan better for future games). All of this is to say that it doesn’t sound like GTA 6 is being marketed for release, but marketed to keep investment and hype high while they work on it. That’s not necessarily uncommon, but for such a game with such anticipation, it is highly dangerous. At what point is Rockstar pressured to release GTA 6 before it’s ready?

I Just Can’t Believe GTA 6 is Releasing in 2026

Here’s my guess on how this is going to play out: before summer 2026, Rockstar will announce a delay of GTA 6 into 2027 without a confirmed release date. Heck, it might even be 2028, but I am an optimist, all things considered. As 2027 goes on, we will get another release date. And it will be pushed back at least one or two months. And one of those will stick. And every GTA 6 delay announcement will not be in Cyberpunk yellow, but do not let that fool you.

How confident am I in that exact rollout? Like 20%. But I am fairly confident—no rumors, nothing in my ear, no developers, just what I’ve seen with my two eyes—that GTA 6 ain’t releasing in 2026. And if it does (and it’s not a disaster*), I will find a way to record myself eating my hat (I prefer beanies, but since I assume fabric is more digestible than the flat bill of a cap, I will buy a hat and eat it).

Systems

Released

November, 2026

ESRB

Rating Pending – Likely Mature 17+