Summary
- A Rockstar insider has emphasized that the GTA 6 delay to 2026 was vital for game quality.
- Most fans are supporting the delay, and the insider claims "cool" content was being cut to meet the original 2025 release window.
- GTA 6 revolves around Jason and Lucia in the fictional US state of Leonida.
A Rockstar and gaming insider has recently spoken about Grand Theft Auto 6’s recent delay to 2026, noting that the change was ‘absolutely necessary’ to the game’s success. The behemoth that is Grand Theft Auto 6 was originally slated for a late 2025 release, and the video games community has been holding its breath waiting for a concrete release date and the arrival of a second trailer. Thankfully, the follow-up trailer was a visual spectacle, which helped soothe the confirmation of the title’s delay.
The upcoming action-adventure title serves as the eighth main game in the Grand Theft Auto series, over ten years after the release of Grand Theft Auto 5. This time, the story will revolve around criminal partners Jason and Lucia, set in the fictional US state of Leonida. To put the scale of the game into perspective, an ex-Rockstar artist revealed how long Grand Theft Auto 6's development was recently, following the release of Red Dead Redemption 2.
Grand Theft Auto 6's New Screenshots Open Up a World of Potential Side Activities
The recent screenshots for Grand Theft Auto 6 are full of information, potentially showcasing some of the game's side activities.
Posted by GameRoll on Twitter, the insider made a short but impactful statement regarding the GTA 6 delay, saying the move to 2026 was "absolutely necessary.” This opinion arrived after Grand Theft Auto 6 devs revealed they weren’t surprised about the delay, and the insider believed the game would have been “significantly worse” if it had released in its original 2025 window. Furthermore, the insider noted that Rockstar had begun cutting a fair amount of “cool stuff” to try and meet the 2025 deadline, which is why the delay brought a sense of relief.
Rockstar Insider Says GTA 6 Delay Was Necessary to Preserve Cut Content
Grand Theft Auto 6’s delay was announced at the start of May 2025, stalling the game’s launch until May 26, 2026, and the news did not come as a surprise to most, despite gamers keeping their fingers crossed for a late 2025 launch. A majority of the fan base were in complete support of the delay, but some continued to speculate that the game could receive a further setback next summer, potentially pushing Jason and Lucia’s Bonnie-and-Clyde escapade until late 2026. Additionally, players are hoping the cut content referred to by the insider will remain in the final product.
Before the fallout of Rockstar’s pushback, rumors suggested major publishers were ready to delay its games because of GTA 6’s release window. Speculation reported that three publishers were looking to give Rockstar’s release a wide berth, with several strategies being brainstormed behind the scenes to give its games a fighting chance on the release schedule.
OpenCritic Reviews
- Released
- November 19, 2026
- ESRB
- Rating Pending - Likely Mature 17+
- Developer(s)
- Rockstar Games
- Publisher(s)
- Rockstar Games
