In another devastating blow to the gaming community, the release of Grand Theft Auto 6 has been delayed for a second time.
The game was originally announced for a fall 2025 release before being pushed back to May 2026 and now the release date has been set for November 19, 2026.
GTA is the best-selling action-adventure and open-world series of all-time and its most popular title, GTA 5, trails only Minecraft in most video game copies sold throughout history.
Understandably, a lot of people are disappointed and it’s not hard to see why.
Why Has GTA 6 Been Delayed?
In a statement, Rockstar revealed it needed more time to finish the game with the level of polish that fans of the franchise had come to “expect and deserve.”
The company apologised for adding additional time to an already-long wait. Analysts are predicting GTA 6 will revive a steadily declining gaming industry following a Covid-era boom.
GTA 5 generated upwards of $8.6 billion from its release in 2013 and Rockstar haven’t released a title since the well-received Red Dead Redemption 2 – launched in 2018 which accumulated $725 million in sales across its opening weekend.
It has been more than 12 years since the release of GTA 5 but this isn’t exactly out of character from Rockstar.
Rockstar’s History With Delayed Games
Rockstar’s history with delayed games began in October 2002, when they pushed back the release of GTA: Vice City by seven days to give them more time to manufacture discs – luckily that isn’t so much of a problem these days.
Two years later in 2004, GTA: San Andreas for the PlayStation 2 hit the shelves a week later than planned in a strategic decision designed to give the development team a few extra days to polish their project.
GTA: Vice City Stories for the PlayStation Portable was delayed for two weeks in North America back in 2006 – and longer in parts of Europe.
GTA 4 was scheduled to release in stores on October 17, 2007 but didn’t come out until April 29, 2008. This was the first edition on the new-generation PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 consoles, which left behind the RenderWare engine.
Additionally, Rockstar pushed the release of GTA: Chinatown Wars back two months in 2009 to ensure it met the company’s quality standards.
GTA 5 was due to release in spring 2013 but in late January of that year, Rockstar once again delayed the game with the same ‘polishing’ message – maybe that was the right call as it went on to become the most successful console game in history.
Red Dead Redemption 2 was delayed twice, first in the spring of 2017 for quality assurance purposes before a second delay in February 2018 which pushed its release back to late October.
Rockstar Adds GTA 5 To PlayStation Plus To Soften Blow
In an attempt to appease some disappointed gamers, Rockstar will add GTA 5 to PlayStation Plus on November 18 and the title is expected to remain for six months.
PlayStation Plus is a monthly subscription service that offers hundreds of PS4 and PS5 games starting from just £6.99 a month.
How Much Will GTA 6 Cost?
The price of GTA 6 is still to be announced, but it’s widely expected the game will cost around $70 for the standard edition.
The game will likely have a Deluxe Edition with bonus digital content as well alongside a Collector’s Edition that includes both digital and physical items.
The Deluxe will probably set you back somewhere around $90 and you’re looking at over $130 for the Collector’s Edition if rumours are to be believed.
