GTA 6 just got delayed again. For real. And so the long wait continues

At 12 years and counting, it’s felt like a lifetime. But the wait for Grand Theft Auto 6 just got even longer.

To the surprise of few, GTA 6 has been pushed out of its release date of May 26, 2026, and will now launch just about six months later. Rockstar Games made the unfortunate announcement on X/Twitter today.

“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,” the company said.

GTA 6 will now launch just over one year from now on Nov. 19, 2026, potentially pitting it against games like Call of Duty and other fall/winter releases. But given the anticipation and excitement for this long-awaited sequel, it’s likely that we will see other games push their release dates to avoid it soon.

“We want to thank you again for your patience and support,” Rockstar said. “While the wait is a little longer, we are incredibly excited for players to experience the sprawling state of Leonida and a return to modern day Vice City.”

This is the second time GTA 6 has suffered an official delay. It was initially supposed to launch in 2025, but was pushed to next May to allow for more development time and polish.

Given the assumed scale and reported development cost of the game (over $2 billion), it makes sense for Rockstar to make sure that this game launches in a proper state, even though it could probably be broken upon release and still break records. And so for that, I respect the delay and wish the devs the best in making this game as good as it possibly can be, because the expectations are probably insurmountable.