Has GTA 6 Been Delayed Again? Full Delay History and Status

No, GTA 6 has not been delayed again. As of October 28, 2026, Grand Theft Auto VI is still set to launch on November 19, 2026 for PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S, with pre-loading from November 12. Rockstar Games has delayed the game twice: first from fall 2025 to May 26, 2026, and then to its current November date.

This page tracks every change to the GTA 6 release date, what Rockstar and Take-Two said each time, why the game took so long, and the signs to watch over the final three weeks before launch.

Not as of today. Every official signal since the second delay points at November 19:

• Take-Two's August 7, 2026 earnings: the publisher listed GTA 6 for November 19, 2026 and kept its full-year forecast of $8.0 to $8.2 billion in net bookings, a number built around the launch.
• Pre-orders are live: the game has been on sale since June 25, 2026, with a fixed pre-load date of November 12.
• Rating is final: the ESRB has given GTA 6 its Mature 17+ rating, one of the last formal steps before a game can ship in the US.
• No official word of a change: neither Rockstar's Newswire nor Take-Two's investor releases mention a new date.

The one thing that has not happened yet is the "gone gold" announcement, explained further down. That is normal at this stage and not a sign of trouble on its own.

So the answer to "how many times has GTA 6 been delayed" is two. The move from "2025" to "fall 2025" in May 2024 was a narrowing of the window, not a delay, because fall 2025 was still inside 2025.

On May 2, 2025, Rockstar announced that GTA 6 would miss fall 2025 and release on May 26, 2026. The studio apologized directly to fans, saying it was very sorry the game would arrive later than expected, and explained that it needed more time to deliver at the quality players expect.

Four days later, on May 6, 2025, Rockstar released the second trailer, which helped soften the reaction.

Six months later, on November 6, 2025, Rockstar pushed the game again, to Thursday, November 19, 2026. The statement apologized for adding more time to what it called a long wait, and said the extra months would let the team finish the game with the level of polish players have come to expect.

Take-Two published the news alongside its quarterly results. CEO Strauss Zelnick gave investors no deeper reason than polish. In October 2026, a Bloomberg feature added a rare look behind the scenes: Rockstar's head of publishing, Jennifer Kolbe, recalled that when she called Zelnick to ask for the second delay, his first reaction was to ask her to tell him she was joking. Once she explained the reasons, he agreed, arguing that extra development time is usually a wise investment.

Rockstar has only ever given one official reason for the delays: polish. Beyond that, several things explain why GTA 6 has been in development for so long:

• Scale: GTA 6 covers the whole fictional state of Leonida, not just one city. Vice City, the Keys, swamps and smaller towns all had to be built in detail. Our GTA 6 map guide shows how much ground that is.
• Two protagonists: the story is built around Jason and Lucia together, which means two full sets of missions, animations and dialogue. Read more about Lucia Caminos and Jason Duval.
• A long gap since GTA V: GTA V came out in 2013, and Rockstar spent years supporting GTA Online and making Red Dead Redemption 2 before GTA 6 became its main project.
• Rockstar's standard: the studio is known for detail such as crowds, weather and physics, and it is willing to slip dates to reach it.

The 2022 leak did not cause either delay. Rockstar said at the time that the hack would have no long-term effect on development, and both delays came more than two years later with polish as the stated reason.

For the cost side of that long schedule, see how much GTA 6 cost to make.

The first official target was simply 2025, shown at the end of the December 2023 reveal trailer. In May 2024, Take-Two narrowed it to fall 2025. That was the original release date in practice, and the one most fans planned around.

The first specific day Rockstar ever named was May 26, 2026. November 19, 2026 is therefore the second exact date, and the third release target overall.

Two delays sound bad, but they fit Rockstar's history. The studio has slipped nearly every major release, and those games still went on to sell enormously:

Red Dead Redemption 2 is the closest comparison. It was also delayed twice, also landed about a year after its first target, and then shipped on its final date without another slip.

A third delay this late would be very unusual for a game that is already on sale with a fixed pre-load date. Several things now lock November 19 in place:

• Money is committed: Take-Two's record forecast for the fiscal year depends on a November launch, and the company repeated that forecast in August.
• Customers have paid: pre-orders have been open since June 25, and every store listing and the November 12 pre-load are tied to the date. Take-Two called the pre-order start exceptional, though it has not shared a number.
• Physical stock is scheduled: boxed copies with download codes go on sale November 12. Our GTA 6 price and editions guide explains what the box contains.
• The marketing is running: trailers, the Netflix extended look and retail promotions are all built around November 19.

Nothing is ever fully guaranteed until a game ships, but every public sign says GTA 6 launches on time.

Not yet, and that is expected. "Going gold" means the final launch version is finished and has passed Sony's and Microsoft's certification checks. According to Bloomberg's reporting in October 2026, Rockstar was still fixing bugs and refining the game, with certification expected in November, close to the pre-load window.

Rockstar's technology director, Phil Hooker, described development as continuing right up to the last moment. Late gold dates are common for huge games: GTA V went gold only about three weeks before its release. A missing gold announcement three weeks out is not a warning sign by itself.

Fake delay news spreads fast because so many people are waiting for this game. These claims all circulated, and none came from Rockstar or Take-Two:

• "Delayed to June 2027": started on an unverified social page. Rockstar insiders called it nonsense.
• "Delayed to February 2027": an anonymous 4chan post in May 2026. Take-Two answered it by repeating the November date in its guidance.
• A fake "official" Rockstar statement: a made-up message claiming a network breach and a 2027 date. Rockstar never posted it.
• "The game is not ready": in August 2026 the leaker CyberLeek claimed a leaked build showed the game was unfinished. Reporters disagreed about how old that footage was, and around the same time Rockstar posted that the game was "nearly there." Our CyberLeek leaks breakdown covers what was actually shown.

How to check a delay claim: a real delay will appear on Rockstar's Newswire and Rockstar's official social accounts, or in a Take-Two press release. If none of those say it, treat the claim as a rumor.

No. GTA 6 is not cancelled. It has a fixed release date, open pre-orders, a final age rating and a full marketing campaign. The "cancelled" searches mostly come from people seeing fake delay posts or old news about the second delay.

For the full launch details, see our GTA 6 release date guide.

Not directly, because there is no announced PC version to delay. GTA 6 launches only on PS5 and Xbox Series X|S. Rockstar usually brings its games to PC later: GTA V arrived about 19 months after consoles, and Red Dead Redemption 2 about a year after. Follow the latest on our GTA 6 PC release page.

Did GTA 6 get delayed again?

No. As of October 28, 2026, the release date is still November 19, 2026.

How many times has GTA 6 been delayed?

Twice: from fall 2025 to May 26, 2026, and then to November 19, 2026.

Why was GTA 6 delayed?

Rockstar said both times that it needed more time to polish the game to the quality players expect. It has not given any other official reason.

Was GTA 6 delayed to 2027?

No. Several 2027 delay claims spread online, but none came from Rockstar or Take-Two, and both companies still list November 19, 2026.

What was the original GTA 6 release date?

The original target was fall 2025. The first exact date Rockstar announced was May 26, 2026.

When did Rockstar announce the last delay?

On November 6, 2025, the same day Take-Two reported its quarterly results.

How long has GTA 6 been in development?

Rockstar officially confirmed development in February 2022, though work started before that announcement. The game launches 13 years after GTA V, the longest gap between two main Grand Theft Auto games.