Rockstar Games Postpones GTA VI Again, Moving Launch to the End of 2026

Rockstar Games's long-awaited Grand Theft Auto VI, which was scheduled to arrive on the 26th of May the coming year, has been delayed again – this time to the conclusion of 2026. It has now been nearly two years since the title's announcement, and more than 12 years since Grand Theft Auto V was released on the gaming scene.

“Grand Theft Auto VI will now debut on November 19, 2026, a Thursday,” reads Rockstar Games's official statement on X. “We apologize for imposing additional time to what we recognize has been a protracted anticipation, but these extra months will enable us to complete the game with the quality you have grown accustomed to and deserve.”

The long-anticipated game features a intimately linked duo of outlaws named Jason and Lucia in Rockstar’s sun-bleached version of Miami, Vice City, and the broader Florida-like state of Leonida. Work has been in progress at the Edinburgh studio in Edinburgh, with assistance from the developer's additional teams in NY and globally, since 2018. Its original release window was late 2025.

It has been hoped that Grand Theft Auto VI would reinvigorate an struggling games industry, which has seen a decline after a pandemic-driven surge. Based on publishing giant Take-Two Interactive's latest earnings statements, its forerunner Grand Theft Auto V has earned $8.6bn since its 2013 release. The studio's last game, the critically acclaimed Red Dead Redemption II, was released in 2018 and reached $725m in revenue over its first weekend.

Players, meanwhile, have had a very long time to anticipate the developer's newest release: even by the standards of the video games industry, where half-decade long developments for major titles are not unusual, the more than 12-year wait for Grand Theft Auto VI has been considerable.