On May 2, 2025, Rockstar Games announced to the world: “Grand Theft Auto VI will now be released on May 26, 2026.” In its message to fans, it said: “We are very sorry that this is later than you expected.” The game was originally scheduled for release in 2025.
It was delayed yet again and is now releasing in November this year, but as you may have gathered today is May 26, 2026 and we could all have been living our best lives in Leonida and Vice City.
Grand Theft Auto 6's original May 2026 release date is here, but we're still empty-handed
The past few weeks have been one wild go for those waiting for GTA 6. There was some anticipation that Rockstar would release the game's third trailer on May 12, with four or five separate theories lining up to suggest that date. It never materialized, and the company instead made a post about Red Dead Redemption Online. Fans were heartbroken.
Two days later, an email was sent to Best Buy's affiliates hinting that pre-orders for GTA 6 would begin on May 18, and the hype reached a fever pitch. There has to be a new trailer before then, and if not, at least pre-orders would be live. Nothing happened.
At the very least, with Take-Two's Q4 and FY26 earnings calls taking place on May 21st, we'd be guaranteed a new bit of information. Wrong again. CEO Strauss Zelnick reiterated the November release date and confirmed that marketing would begin in the summer, but was cautious about any details beyond that.
Marketing for Grand Theft Auto 6 is miles behind Grand Theft Auto 5 at this point.
It has been argued, by fans and shareholders alike, that Grand Theft Auto 6 needs no marketing. It's a game guaranteed to sell millions and millions of copies and, in my time as a journalist, by far the most hyped title I've ever seen.
Zelnick, on the other hand, disagrees with this notion and was bullish on the need to promote the game, suggesting that players need to know when it's out. We hope that the date of November 19 will stick.
