Grand Theft Auto 6's Rumored Delay Would Hurt One Group of…

The wait for Grand Theft Auto 6 has been long, with over a decade having passed since the franchise's last mainline release, playing further into the growing trend of long periods of time existing between the releases of major AAA titles. Rockstar in particular has a penchant for putting an immense amount of scale and gameplay variety into its projects, only putting more pressure on any sequels and increasing the development times of these projects as a result.

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By Jenna Amore

A Delay Would Set Grand Theft Auto 6's PC Playerbase Even Further Behind

The pressure on the launch of Grand Theft Auto 6 is immense, arguably being the upcoming title with the highest expectations being placed on it across the entire gaming industry. Not only is the whole GTA franchise immensely popular, but Grand Theft Auto 5 stands as the single most profitable piece of media in history, and Rockstar is expected to maintain and even exceed this standard with its sequel.

Development of GTA 6 started a decade ago in 2014, with the game being subjected to many setbacks ever since. Not only has Rockstar had to maintain a lot of GTA 5's resources thanks to the fairly unpredictable success of GTA Online, but GTA 6 was also subjected to several high-profile and very damaging leaks in 2022, with these both being factors that would strain the development cycle of the upcoming game.

Rockstar's intended release window for Grand Theft Auto 6 has been narrowed down to Fall 2025, but some recent rumors suggested that this may have already been pushed back to 2026. This would have only concerned the Xbox and PlayStation releases for the title, with the PC playerbase of GTA 6 once again having to wait for an even later release date, largely due to piracy safeguarding protocols.

The Scale of Grand Theft Auto 6 Might Cause Some Hiccups For Rockstar

This delay could result in a substantially later release date for PC players, although some sources at Rockstar have since assured fans that the initial 2025 release window is still on track to be met. While this is a hopeful development, the huge undertaking that Rockstar is faced with concerning GTA 6 means that a delay is never off the table, and PC players would sadly face the brunt of this possibility. As well as this, a significant delay to Grand Theft Auto 6 would stall the development of future Rockstar titles, with the likes of a potential RDR3 only slipping further away if a delay occurs.

Leaks and estimations suggest that the development budget for GTA 6 could be as high as $2 billion, with the release of the title even sparking debates around an increase in AAA pricing going forward. It is clear to see why so many are concerned that the title may have to be delayed due to its scale, especially with fans having already waited for so long, but PC players will sadly be impacted the most by the knock-on release schedule impacts that this would have across GTA 6's platforms.