Take-Two delays release of Grand Theft Auto VI to May 2026

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(Bloomberg) — Take-Two Interactive Software Inc. pushed back the release of Grand Theft Auto VI to next year, giving the team more time to finish what’s expected to be one of the most lucrative video games ever. The shares tumbled 11% in premarket trading.

The title, which has already missed multiple deadlines, would likely have been the biggest release of 2025. Now it won’t hit the market until May 26, 2026, Take-Two said in a statement on Friday.

“We support fully Rockstar Games taking additional time to realize their creative vision for Grand Theft Auto VI, which promises to be a groundbreaking, blockbuster entertainment experience that exceeds audience expectations,” Chief Executive Officer Strauss Zelnick said.

“While we take the movement of our titles seriously and appreciate the vast and deep global anticipation for Grand Theft Auto VI, we remain steadfast in our commitment to excellence.”

Rockstar Games, the studio behind the hit, has revealed little about GTA 6 aside from a a teaser trailer for the game in late 2023, showing the game is set in a fictional version of Miami. Bloomberg News has reported that it will star a pair of characters inspired by the criminal duo Bonnie and Clyde, and that its writers are under orders to be less crude toward transgender people and other minorities, the common targets of throwaway gags in previous versions.

Much is at stake for Take-Two with the game’s release, as the franchise makes up a significant portion of the company’s overall revenue. Grand Theft Auto V has sold some 210 million units, making it the No. 2 bestselling game ever, after Microsoft Corp.’s Minecraft. Since its release, the franchise has generated about $9 billion in revenue, according to an earlier estimate by TweakTown, a trade publication.

GTA VI has been under development in some form since 2014 but only began in earnest after Rockstar’s last major release, 2018’s Red Dead Redemption II. That project was extremely labour-intensive, requiring late hours and pushed staff to the brink, Bloomberg has reported.

Seeking to improve its workplace culture, the company ousted several executives and promised a more reasonable schedule. A massive hack in 2022 that leaked pre-release footage from development also complicated the timeline.

There could be any number of reasons the game has hit some snags at this point, said Matthew Ball, CEO at Epyllion, an investment advisory firm, such as “game polish, to producing more content for launch, or a new launch strategy where console and PC ship at the same time, or where Rockstar will launch GTA6’s Online mode closer to the release of GTA6.”

—With assistance from Cecilia D’Anastasio.