The release of Grand Theft Auto VI, expected to be one of the best-selling games of all time, is delayed once again.
The sequel to the 2013 blockbuster Grand Theft Auto (GTA) V was originally supposed to be released this autumn but was pushed back earlier this year by developers Rockstar Games.
Now, it has been delayed once again, pushed to November 2026.
Why is it being delayed again?
Rockstar says the delay will give them extra time to “finish the game with the level of polish you have come to expect and deserve”.
That’s not a surprise to George Osborn, games industry commentator and author of the Games Industry Memo.
“For something that is as enormous, as big budget, as high production value as this, and given Rockstar’s history as a company of delaying stuff until it’s absolutely ready, it’s not hugely unexpected,” he told Sky News.
The expectations around GTA VI are high.
While other recent releases seem to have decided “less is more”, Rockstar is likely working with a budget of over £1bn and fans who have been waiting over a decade for the new game, according to Mr Osborn.
“If you look at the Indiana Jones that came out last year, it looks great, it’s really fun to play, but it actually only lasts about 20 hours in terms of game time, not much more than a prestige TV series,” he said.
“But [GTA6] might be one of the handful of gigantic games that really does need to be that polished to meet the expectations of consumers, but also the ridiculously high production standards they have within Rockstar itself.”
Protesters outside Rockstar’s Edinburgh office. Pic: PA
Could internal problems at Rockstar have anything to do with the delay?
Rockstar already hit the headlines once this week after the studio was accused of union-busting when around 30 members of staff were fired.
The union representing the workers, the Independent Workers’ Union of Great Britain (IWGB), said the staff who were fired were all taking part in trade union activity.
A Rockstar spokesperson told Bloomberg, however, that the studio had taken action against “a small number” of employees for “distributing and discussing confidential information in a public forum”.
Pic: PA
Take-Two Interactive, Rockstar’s parent company, has also launched multiple rounds of job cuts across its business in the last two years.
However, Mr Osborn doesn’t think these internal issues will have impacted GTA VI’s release.
“For Take-Two, Grand Theft Auto is essentially the golden egg,” he said.
“They’re waiting for the goose to lay, so they’re not too fussed [about] reductions of headcount at Rockstar.”
As for the workers who were let go this week, he said his “gut feeling” is their departures are probably not enough to “push the needle” in terms of release dates.
Sky News has approached Take-Two Interactive for comment.
Could the delay be a good thing?
There’s plenty of frustration about the ongoing delays but maybe good things come to those who wait…
“Better it come out good than rushed, but still disappointing… Hope they at least give us trailer two as an apology,” said one gamer on X.
Grand Theft Auto V for sale in 2022. File pic: Reuters
As well as giving the studio more time to perfect the game, the delay may also mean the people working on GTA VI are put under less intense pressure, according to Mr Osborn.
“The company came in for a lot of criticism in the run-up to previous releases for basically crunching too hard, getting the staff working too hard on the project in the run-up to it, burning them out,” he said.
In 2018, Rockstar faced a backlash after workers described intense working conditions in the run-up to big releases like Red Dead Redemption and GTA V.
“During the GTA IV era, it was like working with a gun to your head seven days a week,” posted one former employee at the time.
Since then, Rockstar has tried to reform its working culture.
“The repercussion of that [reform] is essentially it takes them even longer to make stuff because the production standards are so high,” said Mr Osborn.
“For GTA VI, it has to be perfect out of the gate. Otherwise, it’s going to be hard for them to get towards that £1bn mark they need to make the money back.”
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What does this mean for other games?
GTA VI is expected to eat up game sales as soon as it is released. Its last iteration, GTA V, is still the second-best-selling game of all time (Minecraft is the best-selling).
“It’s going to just dominate everything and take the air out of the room,” said Mr Osborn.
Gamers queued up overnight to buy Grand Theft Auto V in 2013. File pic: Reuters
As such, the games industry has been on tenterhooks waiting to see if Rockstar would make their May 2026 deadline, so they could avoid their own game releases being overshadowed.
“The immediate winners are probably Resident Evil Requiem in February and First Light, the James Bond game that is releasing in March,” said Mr Osborn.
“Both of those games 1762525569 have a much, much clearer run into the year.”
As for games like The Elder Scrolls VI or Fable, both potentially being released next autumn, they may now be seeing if they can move their timelines to avoid clashing with Grand Theft Auto VI.
“Ultimately, when the GTA VI release date moves, the entire industry moves around it.”
Mr Osborn also counts himself as one of the winners of the deadline move, as his book on the games industry can now be released far in advance of Grand Theft Auto VI.
“For someone who’s trying to convince people who like video games to spend £25 on something, it’s really handy that something that’s going to cost £70, £80 has just been shoved out of the calendar.”
