It finally felt like GTA 6 was in reach, but it just got delayed again and now it's more than a year away

With a solid launch date announced, it finally felt like we could let a Take-Two earnings call come and go without hearing the phrase 'GTA 6 delayed' ever again. How wrong we were. Rockstar's parent company has just pushed back the GTA 6 release date once more. Initially set for May 26 next year, it felt within reach, but now we have more than a year to wait all over again. A new date has been set for Thursday, November 19, 2026.

GTA 6 is, without question, the most anticipated new game in the pipeline. However, this is now the second major delay the game has faced. Initially billed to launch in 2025, Rockstar and Take-Two confirmed its first delay with the release of its second trailer. This pushed it to May - an admittedly unusual time of year for such a huge game to drop, but with an exact date given, I certainly felt confident that it was firmly locked in. However, it's now been delayed once again.

"We are sorry for adding additional time to what we realize has been a long wait, but these extra months will allow us to finish the game with the level of polish you have come to expect and deserve," Rockstar says in a social media post announcing the new release date. "We want to thank you again for your patience and support. While the wait is a little longer, we are incredibly excited for players to experience the sprawling state of Leonida and a return to modern day Vice City."

Take-Two boss Straus Zelnick has also commented on the delay ahead of the company's quarterly earnings call today. "When we set a date, we really do believe in it," he tells The Games Business. "We said when we set the last date, if a game requires more polish to be the best possible version of itself, then we will give that game more time. And that's exactly what happened. We feel really good about this release date. It's in the same fiscal year, it happens to be a great release window, and naturally we're really supportive of Rockstar's approach."

I have to say, I'm pretty gutted, and I feel that the May date Take-Two previously set was either overly ambitious or a bit disingenuous. I'll give the benefit of doubt and say it's the former, but all this does is make me less confident that it'll even be able to hit this new November date. One day, folks. One day.