GTA 6 Delay History: Both Delays and Every Release Date

GTA 6 has been delayed twice, and its release date is now Thursday, November 19, 2026, on PS5 and Xbox Series X|S. Rockstar moved the game from fall 2025 to May 26, 2026 on May 2, 2025, then to November 19, 2026 on November 6, 2025. When we checked on November 3, 2026, no further delay had been announced: Take-Two said on August 7 that the date is on track, and that day Rockstar moved the preload two days earlier, to November 10, and confirmed the game unlocks at midnight local time on November 19.

Below is every release date or window Rockstar and Take-Two have given, with the day each one was said and its source. Our GTA 6 countdown counts down to the current date, and the complete GTA 6 timeline adds every trailer and Take-Two statement in between.

Every GTA 6 release date, and when it moved

Said on	Who said it	Release date or window	What changed
February 4, 2022	Rockstar Newswire	None	Rockstar says development of the next Grand Theft Auto is "well underway"
December 4, 2023	Rockstar and Take-Two, with Trailer 1	2025	The first window, on PS5 and Xbox Series X|S
May 16, 2024	Take-Two, fiscal 2024 results	Fall 2025	Take-Two narrows calendar 2025 to fall 2025
February 6, 2025	Take-Two, third-quarter results	Fall 2025	Repeated three months before the first delay
May 2, 2025	Rockstar Newswire, Take-Two	May 26, 2026	First delay, from fall 2025
November 6, 2025	Rockstar Newswire, Take-Two	November 19, 2026	Second delay, from May 26, 2026
February 3, 2026	Take-Two, third-quarter results	November 19, 2026	Kept
May 21, 2026	Take-Two, fiscal 2026 results	November 19, 2026	Kept
August 7, 2026	Take-Two, first-quarter results	November 19, 2026	Kept: Take-Two says the date is on track

May 26, 2026 was the first exact day anyone gave for GTA 6. Before that, Rockstar and Take-Two only ever named a year and then a season.

The first delay: fall 2025 to May 26, 2026

Rockstar announced the first delay on May 2, 2025, almost five months before fall 2025 began. Its statement apologized: "We are very sorry that this is later than you expected." It said the team needed "this extra time to deliver at the level of quality you expect and deserve" (quoted by IGN).

Take-Two put out its own release the same day. It said the game "was expected to launch in Fall of 2025" and "is now planned for release on May 26, 2026", which moved it into Take-Two's fiscal year 2027. Its chief executive, Strauss Zelnick, said the company supports "Rockstar Games taking additional time to realize their creative vision".

The second delay: May 26 to November 19, 2026

Rockstar announced the second delay on Thursday, November 6, 2025, 201 days before the May 26 date. The statement, quoted by Polygon, says: "We are sorry for adding additional time to what we realize has been a long wait, but these extra months will allow us to finish the game with the level of polish you have come to expect and deserve."

Take-Two confirmed it the same day in its second-quarter results, where Zelnick said Rockstar "will now release Grand Theft Auto VI on November 19, 2026". The new date sits 177 days after the old one, and it was named 378 days before launch.

Why GTA 6 was delayed, in Rockstar's words

Rockstar's public reason both times was time to finish the game to its standard. More detail came in a Bloomberg Businessweek feature on October 14, 2026, reported by Eurogamer the same day. Bloomberg reported that the detailed work on the game took longer once the pandemic sent staff home. "Trying to keep a team together through that is really challenging," said Rob Nelson, co-head of Rockstar North.

On the second delay, Rockstar's head of publishing, Jennifer Kolbe, recalled phoning Zelnick to say the May date would not hold. Her account of his reply: "You're kidding. Please tell me you're kidding." She said he understood once they talked it through.

Is GTA 6 delayed again, or delayed to 2027?

No. When we checked on November 3, 2026, neither Rockstar nor Take-Two had announced another delay or any 2027 date. The signs all point to November 19:

• Take-Two's results on August 7, 2026 said the November 19 release is on track and reported an "exceptional start to preorders" (IGN).
• On November 3, Rockstar Support moved the preload up to November 10 (midnight local time on PS5, 12 AM GMT on Xbox) and confirmed a midnight local time launch on November 19 in every region. Boxed copies still go on sale November 12.
• Take-Two reports its next results on Monday, November 9, 2026, ten days before launch. The second delay was announced on an earnings day, so that is the date to watch.

Our rumor check on another delay weighs every claim with its source and changes the same day if anything moves. What each country's store lists for launch night is on the GTA 6 release time page.

Rockstar's history of delays

Delays are normal for Rockstar's biggest games. Red Dead Redemption 2 also slipped twice: from fall 2017 to spring 2018 (announced May 22, 2017), then to October 26, 2018 (announced February 1, 2018), and it came out on that second date. GTA V on PC moved twice in 2015, from January 27 to March 24 and then to April 14, the first time just 14 days before its planned day (Ars Technica, GameSpot).

Game	Final date	Named on	Came out
Red Dead Redemption 2	October 26, 2018	February 1, 2018	October 26, 2018
GTA V on PC	April 14, 2015	February 24, 2015	April 14, 2015
GTA 6	November 19, 2026	November 6, 2025	Due November 19, 2026

GTA 6's current date has stood for longer than either of those final dates did before release: 344 days so far, as of October 16, 2026.