Grand Theft Auto 6 will always dominate headlines, especially now that the official trailer has since been released and there’s now more concrete information about the game outside of the viral leaks from September 2022. So when someone claimed of a potential GTA 6 delay, the statement drew everyone to the source like moths to a flame. However, because the statement came during a weekend, most credible sources of information couldn’t outright confirm nor deny the GTA 6 delay.
With the weekend over, it’s business as one of the most trusted industry insiders is finally talking about GTA 6’s release window, and he’s got good-ish news.
The good news is that GTA 6 isn’t delayed. At least, not to his knowledge. However, he can’t rule out the possibility that Rockstar could push it back to a later date.
According to Jason Schreier’s statement on X, six Rockstar employees denied GTA 6’s delay rumors. On the other hand, Liam, who is a staff member of GTA Base, has since said that he’s cutting ties with his sources after the backlash he received for the information he spread over the weekend.
However, even Schreier was quick to temper expectations, noting that while there’s no concrete evidence of a delay, we can’t rule out a delay. He emphasized that the ambitious nature of the project, describing GTA 6 as a “big, ambitious game” means that it could potentially face development challenges in the future, which is in line with Take-Two Interactive’s previous descriptions of GTA 6’s potential impact on the entire entertainment industry.
Rockstar’s vague release windows for GTA 6—it’s either anytime in 2025 or FY2026—complicates the situation. On one hand, it gives Rockstar a broad timeframe and a considerable flexibility in adjusting their development schedule without necessarily announcing a formal delay.
Technically, an early 2026 release date is still in line with the company’s plans for the next fiscal year, which includes other releases like Borderlands 4 and Mafia 4, among others.
If Rockstar does push GTA 6 back to an early 2026 release, it can technically do so without public knowledge and it will still fall within the original release window.
Rockstar Games has a history of delaying their major releases to ensure quality and polish. Nearly every significant title in their portfolio has experienced at least one delay, with some facing multiple postponements. Even GTA Online, the multiplayer component of Grand Theft Auto V, saw its launch pushed back from its initial target date.
Between this and the fact that releasing on the Xbox Series S requires additional development time—here’s to hoping Xbox has learned its lesson from Black Myth: Wukong and the increased involvement lately, including with Enotria: The Last Song is the start of a more proactive approach for the company—Rockstar has a lot of plates to balance.
Predicting timelines for such intricate projects is one of the most difficult aspects of game development. As games and game engines become increasingly sophisticated, the likelihood of encountering unforeseen obstacles that could impact the release schedule grows.
For now, we can at least rest easy knowing that GTA 6 is still coming out in 2025 (or early 2026, if you’re looking at the financial year).
