As we head into the final stretch of months before Grand Theft Auto 6 goes live, we can now mark the moment that we should be playing it, today, Tuesday, May 26.
This was the first “firm” release date for GTA 6, one that pinpointed the timeline to an actual date. This was after the first “window” of time was given by Rockstar, and we can break down the timeline over the last few years:
- December 2023 – First GTA 6 trailer, release year of 2025
- May 2025 – The first delay, pushing the game out of 2026 to the new May 26, 2026 release date
- November 2025 – Once again, Rockstar delayed GTA 6 even further, targeting release for a November 19, 2026 holiday release, a year from then.
Now, we are once again in May, and we are finally in a period where no more delays appear to be happening. Two delays? Not unheard of for a AAA game, much less a AAAA game like GTA 6, where past Rockstar titles underwent similar pushbacks.
There were leaks that pre-orders were supposed to go live last Monday, before Take-Two’s earnings, but that did not happen. Those went live five months before GTA 5, and we’re at six. The recent earnings report reiterated that GTA 6 would hit its November 19 release date, although Take-Two had previously said multiple times it was confident about a fall 2025 release. Still, two big delays almost have to be the end at this point, and even a short one after this would push it out of the holiday season entirely, and they don’t want that.
As a reminder, this is a console release only, for now. GTA 5 released on PC 19 months after its console release. We don’t know if that’s the timeline here, but 19 months after November 2026 is June 2028. My guess is they may shorten that to a year this time around, given the recent troubles and insane cost of the current console market, but we have no official information about that at all.
So yes, this would have been a very different post-Memorial Day weekend if it had stuck to its first official date. And I do not imagine we would be seeing the release of 007 First Light tomorrow, that’s for sure. I’m not sure how much would have come out the entire month of June at all. Since the November 19 announcement, developers have given it a wide berth, and you can expect practically everything to be released in September or October. So, see you then.
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