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Grand Theft Auto VI may be delayed into 2026 according to a couple of new reports. The hugely ambitious sixth mainline title in the ever-popular Grand Theft Auto series was (and perhaps still is) due to arrive sometime in 2025. Following an unexpected leak for the official first trailer at the tail end of last year, Rockstar Games released the official trailer ahead of schedule much to the delight of long-time fans. The trailer was such a big hit that it spawned numerous parody videos from players using old Grand Theft Auto V footage to recreate it to Hyundai Motorsport doing a live-action cut using people from the team.
In short, gamers are looking forward to this release. Rockstar didn’t give any exact dates but at the end of the trailer it did mention “coming in 2025.” That led to speculation that it might be coming late in the year to potentially coincide with the release of the PS5 Pro which is expected around the same time. Grand Theft Auto VI may very well still have a 2025 release date. However, reports are suggesting it may have been delayed. Worth noting, is that these are based on analyst predictions. Not a leak of internal documents or other sensitive information that Rockstar would want to keep under wraps.
Analysts predict Grand Theft Auto VI being delayed into 2026
Delays for big games seem more and more commonplace these last few years. So if Rockstar were to delay GTA VI, it probably wouldn’t be surprising for fans.
News of this delay comes from Wedbush Securities (via Proactive and Gaming Bible). According to Wedbush, it recently adjusted its financial forecasts for Take-Two Interactive. Wedbush states that it expects Take-Two to see a shift downward with regard to its 2025 fiscal reporting. This is said to be attributed to the publisher’s delay of Grand Theft Auto VI. This fits, given that Take-Two and Rockstar are expected to make money hand over fist from the release of this upcoming game.
That being said, this doesn’t mean the predictions are going to be correct. So you’ll want to take this with a grain of salt until Rockstar confirms any such delays. That also doesn’t mean Wedbush’s predictions should be ignored though. As analysts, making these sorts of predictions is their job. Take-Two is expected to make a full-year report on May 16 and Wedbush is predicting that it will report underwhelming projected progress. At the same time, it thinks the “wait for GTA VI will be worth it.”
Would a delay be the right move?
In almost every single case, if a publisher or studio is going to delay the game, it’s because they feel the game isn’t ready and it needs more time to bake. And that’s usually not a bad thing. In some cases, it might mean the developers don’t have to work while dealing with crunch. And at the very least it could mean that developers will have more time to deal with bugs or other things that would need fixing.
Obviously, players eager to get their hands on Grand Theft Auto VI would want it to launch as soon as possible. But most gamers are reasonable enough to understand that a delay is likely to lead to a better overall end result. That isn’t always the case. Cyberpunk 2077 saw multiple long delays and still launched with plenty of issues that took years to fix. But games like Final Fantasy XIV were initially launched and then pulled, rebooted, and delayed. Which led to what is now one of if not the top MMO. Even a decade after its launch.
So if a delay does happen, it’s likely for a good reason.