Rockstar employees ‘didn’t believe 2025 Grand Theft Auto 6 release date’

Rockstar Games employees didn’t believe that Grand Theft Auto 6 was going to come out in 2025, prior to its delay to 2026, it’s claimed.

After months of speculation, Rockstar confirmed on Friday that the game would now launch in May 2026. 

Following the announcement, Bloomberg’s Jason Schreier, who had previously reported that the 2025 release window was looking unlikely, took to social media to claim that those within Rockstar didn’t expect the game to be released this year.

“Nobody I’ve talked to at Rockstar has believed Fall 2025 was a real window for a very long time now,” Schreier wrote.

“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.”

In a statement from Rockstar on Friday, the company apologised for the delay.

“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.

Further reading

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Grand Theft Auto 6 release date has been announced, but the game has been delayed to 2026

The game will now be released next year, Rockstar says

During an investor presentation in February, publisher Take-Two said the game was still on track to release this year, saying it was “launching Fall of Calendar 2025”.

“We forecast that Calendar Year 2025 will be an inflection point for Take-Two,” the publisher wrote in a statement at the time, “from the groundbreaking release of Grand Theft Auto 6 in the Fall, to the unmatched pipeline that 2K is set to deliver, including Civilization 7 on February 11, Mafia: The Old Country in the Summer, and Borderlands 4.”