In
a
move
bound
to
piss
off
every
publisher
that
shifted
their
games
into
2026
to
avoid
Grand
Theft
Auto,
Rockstar
has
announced
that
its
upcoming
behemoth

GTA
6
has
been
delayed
until
2026.

The
new
release
date
is
May
26,
2026.

“We
are
very
sorry
that
this
is
later
than
you
expected.
The
interest
and
excitement
surrounding
a
new
Grand
Theft
Auto
has
been
truly
humbling
for
our
entire
team.
We
want
to
thank
you
for
your
support
and
your
patience
as
we
work
to
finish
the
game,”

said
the
announcement
on
Rockstar’s
website.

“With
every
game
we
have
released,
the
goal
has
always
been
to
try
and
exceed
your
expectations,
and
Grand
Theft
Auto
VI
is
no
exception.
We
hope
you
understand
that
we
need
this
extra
time
to
deliver
at
the
level
of
quality
you
expect
and
deserve.”

It
seems
like
this
delay
might
have
been
know
about
internally
for
quite
a
while.
Noted
nosy
person
and
gaming
journalist
Jason
Schreier
of
Bloomberg
posted
on
BlueSky
that,
“Nobody
I’ve
talked
to
at
Rockstar
has
believed
Fall
2025
was
a
real
window
for
a
very
long
time
now.”

Nobody
I’ve
talked
to
at
Rockstar
has
believed
Fall
2025
was
a
real
window
for
a
very
long
time
now.
Too
much
work,
not
enough
time,
and
what
appears
to
be
a
real
desire
from
management
to
avoid
brutal
crunch.
GTA
VI
slipping
to
2026
has
seemed
inevitable
for
months
if
not
longer

—
Jason
Schreier
(@jasonschreier.bsky.social)

2
May
2025
at
12:40

https://embed.bsky.app/static/embed.js

According
to
Jason,
there
is
just
“Too
much
work,
not
enough
time,”
but
that
Rockstar’s
credit
there
appears
to
be
a
“real
desire
from
management
to
avoid
brutal
crunch.”

He
goes
on
to
say
that
the
release
date
slipping
has
seemed
inevitable
for
“months,
if
not
longer”.

I
can
only
image
that
there
are
now
heaps
of
publishers
and
developers
crying
into
their
keyboards
after
already
delaying
their
own
games
into
2026
in
an
effort
to
avoid
releasing
anywhere
near
GTA
6.