May 22, 2025: We added CEO Strauss Zelnick's latest comments about the GTA 6 release date delay.
When is GTA 6 coming out? Given how many years it takes to create open worlds of the same caliber as GTA 5, it's no surprise that Rockstar Games has already spent years developing GTA 6. Rockstar prefers to keep its secrets close to its chest until close to the end of development, but Take-Two has now confirmed when exactly we can expect it to arrive.
The Grand Theft Auto 6 release date has certainly been a long time coming. Early gameplay leaks of open-world game. There have been plenty of rumors and speculation surrounding the release date since then, but we finally have confirmation of the GTA 6 release date, story, and setting. Here's all the latest on GTA 6, including trailers and news, right here on PCGamesN.
GTA 6 release date
The GTA 6 release date is confirmed for Tuesday, May 26, 2026. This is the launch date for Xbox Series X|S and PlayStation 5, while the GTA 6 PC release is likely to arrive later that year.
According to the official PlayStation Store listing, GTA 6 will release at midnight across all time zones. This staggered release means that New Zealand will have access to GTA 6 first, while the rest of the world will have to wait until it hits midnight in their time zone. Regions with multiple time zones will see a full release when its earliest time zone hits midnight.
Rockstar Games confirmed the GTA 6 launch date and delay via the official X/Twitter . "We are very sorry that this is later than you expected," it stated. "We hope you understand that we need this extra time to deliver at the level of quality you expect and deserve."
Publisher Take-Two has also weighed in on the launch delay. "We fully Rockstar Games taking additional time to realize their creative vision for Grand Theft Auto VI," CEO Strauss Zelnick said in an official statement.
GTA 6 was originally scheduled for 2025 by Take-Two during its quarterly earnings call for fiscal year 2024. The official announcement included a statement from Rockstar Games founder Sam Ho: "Grand Theft Auto 6 continues our efforts to push the limits of what's possible in highly immersive, story-driven open-world experiences. We're thrilled to be able to share this new vision with players everywhere."
The first GTA 6 trailer set the release year for 2025, and a follow-up press release from Rockstar PR clarified that this is a console-specific release date. It's likely that this remains the case for the revised May 2026 date, and we expect the GTA 6 PC release date will fall later in the year.
We've also got the latest news on where GTA 6 will be on Steam for those of you who prefer playing games on Valve's platform.
GTA 6 PC release date estimate
Take-Two Interactive CEO Strauss Zelnick addressed the GTA 6 PC release date directly during the TD Cowen 52nd Annual Technology, Media, and Telecom Conference. "Rockstar has an approach to platforms which we've seen before, and they will make more announcements in due time," Zelnick said.
Zelnick later went on to tell IGN that Take-Two has "seen PC become a much more and more important part of what used to be a console business, and I wouldn't be surprised to see that trend continue." While console sales have fallen in recent years, he surmises that a new console generation and global tariffs will drive consumers back into that ecosystem. Nevertheless, he reiterated that "the trend that you'd want to focus on is this increasing share of the market that is reflected in PC."
crime game is unquestionably the property that will allow Take-Two to meet its target of "over $8 billion in net bookings and over $1 billion in adjusted unrestricted operating cash flow."
GTA 6 Game
Whether we're talking about the console or PC release, there is some certainty that Grand Theft Auto 6 won't be coming to Game on day one. In a recent interview, Zelnick confirmed that a GTA 6 Game day one launch will not be happening.
There have been ongoing rumors of a GTA 6 marketing exclusivity agreement between Rockstar and Sony for many months now, and the release of trailer 2 lends credence to that speculation. Not only was this trailer captured on PS5, but the appearance of a Dualshock-like controller on Jason's and Lucia's coffee table leaves us confident that Rockstar is not actively courting Xbox Game .
GTA 6 delays
A GTA 6 delay has now been confirmed by Rockstar Games, which is set to miss its initial 2025 release window. Rockstar remained firm that the GTA 6 launch was still on track at the beginning of the forecast release year, but this has now been assessed ahead of the Take-Two quarterly earnings report in May.
Zelnick attributed the GTA 6 delay to a need for "continued polish" in an interview with IGN. The implication here is that there are no systemic issues with development, and that the game itself may well be feature complete. "Rockstar is trying to create the best thing anyone has ever seen in entertainment. Not just interactive entertainment," he told CNBC.
Obbe Vermeij, previously a Rockstar technical director of 14 years, weighed in on the possibility of a delay. "The decision to delay gtaIV was made 4 months or so before the original release date," he wrote on X/Twitter. "Any further and it's hard to make the call. R* is probably not in a position to determine whether they will hit 2025 until May-ish."
A GTA 6 delay has been raised by sources several times in the past. A recent GTA 6 actor interview hinted at "another situation happening in that world that may be coming out in 2025, 2026", sparking fresh speculation that the release date might slip. However, the most significant GTA 6 delay rumors came from a staff member at GTABase, a dedicated Rockstar news site.
"GTA VI has been internally delayed by Rockstar Games and they're already decided on the early to mid 2026 release window," it was alleged on GTA 6 delay was not true.
A Kotaku report in March 2024 also suggested that Rockstar may miss its release window "as production reportedly falls behind." Again, Schreier refuted these claims as an "overblown concern" after consulting his own sources. According to Kotaku's source, any delay to 2026 would be considered a "fallback plan."
GTA 6 trailers
GTA 6 soundtrack peppered throughout.
The trailer 2 description includes a full synopsis of the GTA 6 story: "Jason and Lucia have always known the deck is stacked against them. But when an easy score goes wrong, they find themselves on the darkest side of the sunniest place in America, in the middle of a conspiracy stretching across the state of Leonida — forced to rely on each other more than ever if they want to make it out alive."
The first GTA 6 trailer was released earlier than anticipated due to widespread leaks. It was originally scheduled to drop on Tuesday, December 5, 2023, but Rockstar Games made it available to view a day earlier due to the breach. Trailer 1 is approximately 91 seconds long and verifies rumors that the series is returning to Vice City. It features several prominent GTA 6 locations, including the Malibu Club and Ocean Drive.
The surprise release of trailer 2 follows months of heavy speculation. One easter eggs for GTA 6 in previous GTA Online updates.
GTA 6 leaks
In September 2022, 90 videos showing off 53 minutes and 26 seconds worth of test footage were leaked in one of the biggest data breaches in history. In the early test footage, we could see the player taking the role of a male and a female character, as reported by Bloomberg earlier that year.
One of the standout clips shows the player controlling Lucia as she and Jason hold up a diner, like the couple at the end of Pulp Fiction. Other videos show Lucia standing on a street corner, watching the traffic go by in broad daylight, while Jason visits a nightclub. Since the footage became public, the GTA 6 leaker has been arrested.
A further GTA 6 leak occurred on TikTok just days before the GTA 6 trailer release date, which included a brief glimpse of the map. However, this leak was quickly overshadowed by the GTA 6 trailer itself, which leaked on X/Twitter less than 24 hours prior to the official release. Rockstar Games responded by releasing the trailer wholesale shortly after the discovery of the leak, stating, "Our trailer has leaked, so please watch the real thing."
GTA 6 news
Despite the major setback of leaked game footage, Rockstar released a statement to clarify that while it is "extremely disappointed" that early footage has leaked, work on "the next Grand Theft Auto will continue as planned". The developers also assure fans that they "will update everyone again soon and, of course, will properly introduce you to this next game when it is ready".
At the very least, GTA 6 has been in active development since the community update on February 4, 2022, when Rockstar confirmed that "active development for the next entry in the Grand Theft Auto series was well underway." As part of the studio's announcement that it was winding down for Red Dead Online, Rockstar confirmed that more resources were being diverted to "the next entry in the Grand Theft Auto series."
Zelnick suggests, in a 2019 interview with GamesIndustry.biz, that better development tools and bigger teams could shorten the gaps between game releases. It could also mean that "games may be a bit shorter" while still being robustly ed post-launch.
Mitigating GTA 6 crunch time is another reason the next GTA 6 could be shorter. As Kotaku says in its report in 2020: "One plan that management has laid out for the next game, a new entry in the Grand Theft Auto series, is to start with a moderately sized release (which, by Rockstar's standards, would still be a large game) that is then expanded with regular updates over time, which may help mitigate stress and crunch".
Industry analyst Matthew Ball has forecast that GTA 6 could cost $100 in a report titled The State of Video Gaming in 2025. This potential price hike would break the "$70 barrier" and pave the way for publishers and developers to correct industry deflation. Take-Two has yet to confirm GTA 6's price point.
GTA 6 story
The GTA 6 trailer gave us concrete details surrounding the GTA 6 story. It's quickly apparent that GTA 6 is set in modern-day Vice City and not the '80s. The proliferation of social media posts provide quick snapshots of everyday life in Rockstar's exaggerated version of Miami, including alligator-wrangling, drive-by twerking, and a middle-aged woman in a nightie and slippers wielding two hammers.
While the prospect of in-universe social media has appeared previously in GTA 5, this latest representation of Vice City already proves that the more things change, the more they stay the same.
We also get our first proper introduction to Lucia, the first of GTA 6's two main protagonists, as she appears in orange prison garb, conversing with a prison counselor. When asked why she ended up in prison, she shrugs: "Bad luck, I guess." It's unclear whether this cutscene takes place at the beginning or the end of her story, but the GTA 6 story is set to chart the course of her time on the wrong side of the law.
We also get a glimpse of Jason, the second GTA 6 protagonist and Lucia's partner-in-crime, although he appears to be a less prominent figure than Lucia. The two have an intimate relationship, though their romantic feelings for one another will surely be put to the test.
In a brief voiceover, Lucia appears to be addressing Jason as she declares: "The only way that we get through this is by sticking together. Being a team." This teamwork is reflected in a fraught cutscene as they flee the cops in a getaway car, dollar bills clutched in Lucia's hand. We also see multiple instances of them storming into convenience stores and other buildings, faces obscured and guns raised. One thing's for sure: this is one crime spree we don't want to miss.
Trailer 2 introduced a slew of new GTA 6 characters, including Jason's friend and full-time conspiracy theorist Cal Hampton, club legend and drug kingpin Boobie Ike, and viral rapper duo Real Dimez. Each of these characters has their own part to play in Jason and Lucia's story, though they all ultimately serve their own interests.
In of cast, we might might see a GTA 6 John Cena character the story. This follows a cryptic Instagram post from the actor and professional wrestler himself, whose credits extend to videogames as well as film and TV. While this could just be an expression of excitement for the release date, it's not beyond the realms of possibility that we'll encounter Cena on the mean streets of Vice City in the future.
GTA 6 gameplay
As for what GTA 6 gameplay we can see from the leaks, there's not much different from GTA 5. Ex-Rockstar developer Obbe Vermeij predicts that "people might be a little disappointed" on the GTA 6 release date in an interview with creator SanInPlay, though he maintained it will still "be the best game out there."
In of the GTA 6 map in GTA 5's engine which provides a sense of its massive scale.
Rumors also suggest that the campaign's map will change through DLC to include new areas or updates to existing ones based on whatever theme the DLC has. It's not just the campaign map that changes either, as the new GTA Online mode may take place on an 'evolving map' that includes alterations and tweaks with every update
As you might expect, drivable vehicles include asserts that creative freedom will be a priority, to "still allow the player to do […] weird things."
Some raw test footage shows more about the movement mechanics, including a cover system, crouching, and crawling. The playable character can also cover their face with their hands or GTA 6 weapons to prevent headshots. At one point in the footage, we see Jason looking in a convenience store while using a new vision ability. It looks similar to how Deadeye in Red Dead Redemption works, but right now, we only see it adjust the color of the footage.
A recent report suggests a GTA 6 metaverse is in the works, similar to Fortnite and Roblox. This would be powered by -generated content, allowing creators to "modify the game's environment and assets to bring their own intellectual property – and potentially their brand sponsors – into GTA's virtual sandbox." This comes after rumors that Rockstar Games has reached out to Roblox and Fortnite creators to discuss how they might create in-game custom content for GTA 6.
And that's our roundup of the GTA 6 release date window news. We still have a long time to wait until the sequel to one of the management game that parodies GTA 6's development, or try your hand at the predicted Grand Theft Auto 6 requirements over on PCGameBenchmark to answer the question… "Can I run GTA 6?"