This might be when GTA VI comes out

Over the past two years, we’ve learned several things about Grand Theft Auto VI from official sources. The first one is that it’s in development and Take-Two expects it to set a creative benchmark in the video game industry. Furthermore, the September 2022 leaks “confirmed” that GTA VI is set in Vice City sometime in the 2020s. GTA 6 is also not in danger of being delayed by a strike. Finally, the first official GTA VI teaser trailer will be released on December 5, but part of it has already leaked online.

Mind you, this doesn’t include the leaks, speculation, and insider information freely available on the internet. But, while most of the stuff you find online are conjecture, some are legitimate, especially if they come from Rockstar Games.

Case in point, a “cryptic shirt” that Rockstar recently released in GTA Online had random numbers on it. Initially, most people thought nothing of the shirt until someone pointed out an interesting fact.

Besides @RockstarGames teasing at the GTA 6 reveal date & time with the secret number sequence of "1252309" on this GTA Online shirt a few months ago, there's also more POTENTIAL interesting numbers here.

040125 = April 1st 2025

Could that be the intended GTA 6 release date?! pic.twitter.com/yoR0jJjraR

— Michael (@LegacyKillaHD) December 3, 2023

As shared by u/LiamNialson12 on Reddit, @LegacyKillaHD posted on X how the shirt had two notable sequences: the numbers, “1252309” and “040125.” The former translates to December 5, 2023 9:00 AM, which is when the first trailer of GTA 6 is coming out. On the other hand, the latter can be translated to April 1, 2025, which could be when GTA VI comes out.

Now, there are problems with this potential release date. For one, it falls out of the fiscal year that Take-Two Interactive told its investors to expect the company to make “record” revenue. Of course, this is Take-Two we’re talking about. It’s got plenty of other franchises that could help it reach such a lofty goal. Then again, making so much money is easier said than done. Unless, it plans to release the sequel to the second-best-selling video game ever, which is expected to make over a billion in a day or two. This is partly why many are skeptical that GTA VI will launch on April 1, 2025.

Of course, April 1, 2025 falls on a Tuesday, and Rockstar has almost always released its major titles on the second day of the week.

Here’s a rundown of the release dates of Rockstar’s biggest games and when they came out:

1. Grand Theft Auto – October 21, 1997 (Tuesday)
2. Grand Theft Auto 2 – October 22, 1999 (Friday)
3. Max Payne – July 23, 2001 (Monday)
4. Grand Theft Auto III – October 22, 2001 (Monday)
5. Grand Theft Auto: Vice City – October 29, 2002 (Tuesday)
6. Manhunt – November 18, 2003 (Tuesday)
7. Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne – October 14, 2003 (Tuesday)
8. Red Dead Revolver – May 3, 2004 (Monday)
9. Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas – October 26, 2004 (Tuesday)
10. Bully – October 17, 2006 (Tuesday)
11. Rockstar Games presents Table Tennis – May 23, 2006 (Tuesday)
12. Grand Theft Auto IV – April 29, 2008 (Tuesday)
13. Max Payne 3 – May 15, 2012 (Tuesday)
14. L.A. Noire – May 17, 2011 (Tuesday)
15. Red Dead Redemption – May 18, 2010 (Tuesday)
16. Grand Theft Auto: Episodes from Liberty City – April 13, 2010 (Tuesday)
17. Grand Theft Auto V – September 17, 2013 (Tuesday)
18. Red Dead Redemption 2 – October 26, 2018 (Friday)

As you can see, that’s 13 games all released on a Tuesday, with only two launching on a Friday and the rest dropping on a Monday.

Further lending credence to the April 1, 2025 release date of GTA VI is most GTA and Red Dead Redemption updates are released on a Tuesday. As previously mentioned, we’re getting the first GTA VI trailer this Tuesday, December 5.

If we assume that GTA VI is hitting the storeshelves on a Tuesday, it’s still possible for Rockstar to hit two birds with a single stone and satisfy its investors while releasing the game on April 1, 2025. Similar to what Blizzard Entertainment did for Diablo IV earlier this year, Rockstar could sell fans on the more expensive, higher-tier editions by adding Early Access as a benefit. This would mean that those who bought the higher-priced editions of GTA VI could gain access to the game on/or before March 28, 2025. As a result, Rockstar can enjoy a massive sales surge before FY2025 ends and start FY2026 on a high note, effectively securing two of its best fiscal years in a long time if not ever.

Since this is GTA we’re talking about, it’s not outside the realm of possibility for it to make a billion pre-launch on editions with Early Access alone and another billion when it’s finally out for the rest of the world.

Don’t forget, Hogwarts Legacy made a billion in less than two weeks and it’s coming from a franchise that’s smaller than Grand Theft Auto (sorry, Potterheads, GTA is bigger than the Wizarding World). Another comparison is 2022’s Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II, which made nearly a billion in its launch weekend.

These are games from franchises that, while massive, Grand Theft Auto dwarves.

GTA V is the most successful entertainment product of all time and continues to rake in an absurd amount of money for Rockstar and Take-Two. It’s the kind of game that can help publishers bet on helping it set record-high fiscal years back-to-back based on its launch week alone.

Of course, this is purely hypothetical and we still don’t know when GTA VI is coming out, but most agree that it’s at any point in FY2025.

Judging from how GTA VI is already going viral though, we aren’t putting it past Take-Two to see this as a sign that it can pull off the impossible.

Thankfully, with the GTA VI marketing train starting to gain steam, it won’t be long until we find out exactly what Take-Two and Rockstar have planned for the next GTA game.