GTA 6 Confirms Summer 2026 Plans, Reaffirms Release Date

Marketing for the launch of Grand Theft Auto 6 will officially begin in the Summer, Take-Two Interactive, the parent company of Rockstar Games, has now confirmed. The studio's CEO, Strauss Zelnick, recently provided Grand Theft Auto 6 fans with a much-requested update on the title, reaffirming its November 19, 2026, release date, while also dispelling some rumors and giving the community hope that no further delays are imminent.

Many fans believed that the latest Take-Two quarterly earnings call would see a new trailer for Grand Theft Auto 6 released beforehand. Sadly, that wasn't the case. But CEO Strauss Zelnick did share plenty of great updates about the title, and even shut down recent rumors that there would be no physical release of Grand Theft Auto 6 until 2027. The claim emerged late last month from a source who works with physical video games in Europe and accurately leaked the PS5 port of Microsoft Flight Simulator, who stated that Rockstar is likely looking to avoid spoilers making their way online before the game's release by only launching digitally in November. The insider believed that a physical release could come as late as 2027, but Zelnick has now revealed that's "not the plan."

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GTA 6 Marketing Will Begin This Summer

Zelnick's updates on Grand Theft Auto 6 didn't stop there, though, as the February 3 earnings call also revealed that Rockstar Games intends to kick off its launch marketing for its next title in Summer 2026. Take-Two's CEO once again reiterated his confidence in the game's current November 19 release date. Although we've heard this many times before, only to have a delay follow, the company's confidence in revealing its marketing plans suggests things are heading in the right direction.

“You know me pretty well, for me to even say we’ve got marketing beats coming this summer, is a huge departure from what I usually say," Strauss Zelnick via The Game Business.

So far, marketing for Grand Theft Auto 6 has been drawn out and sporadic. The first trailer for the game was released all the way back in December 2023, one year after fans got their first unofficial look at the next Grand Theft Auto game via some unfortunate leaks. At the time of its first trailer, Rockstar was aiming for a Fall 2025 release, which was eventually pushed back to May 26, 2026. This delay was unfortunate, but a second trailer and tons of screenshots did accompany the news just a few days later. Then, in November last year, Rockstar disappointed fans once again by delaying Grand Theft Auto 6 a second time, pushing it back to November 19, 2026. Thankfully, Zelnick has reaffirmed this release date during the company's most recent quarterly earnings call, and with marketing set to kick off in the Summer, it looks like the odds of another delay are slim.

The question many fans now have is: when will Grand Theft Auto 6 Trailer 3 arrive? Given that it has now been 9 months since the game's second trailer was released, many were hoping to see something relatively soon. But with Zelnick now confirming that marketing will begin in the Summer, it's looking like Rockstar may be holding out until June or July. Of course, releasing a trailer and beginning a full-blown marketing campaign are two very different things, so that doesn't necessarily mean fans won't get to see something from Grand Theft Auto 6 before the Summer.

Zelnick also gave fans an insight into what the future may hold for GTA Online after the launch of Grand Theft Auto 6. As of writing, Rockstar hasn't yet revealed whether or not the next entry in the series will have its own online multiplayer component, or if the current iteration of GTA Online will simply continue to evolve. During yesterday's earnings call, the CEO said he has "every reason to believe" that support for GTA Online will continue after the release of Grand Theft Auto 6. Zelnick explained that the live service title has a huge community, and if players continue to show up, Rockstar will continue to release new updates.