Grand Theft Auto 6 keeps getting delayed. Will this be the last time? Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick seems to think so, although never say never. He also claimed to be confident the last two times Rockstar Games announced a release window.
“When we set a date, we really do believe in it,” he told The Game Business on Thursday. “We said when we set the last date, if a game requires more polish to be the best possible version of itself, then we will give that game more time. And that’s exactly what happened. We feel really good about this release date. It’s in the same fiscal year, it happens to be a great release window, and naturally we’re really supportive of Rockstar’s approach.”
Zelnick was similarly bullish in a new interview with IGN. “I’m highly confident,” he said. “And at the same time, there have been limited circumstances where more time was required to polish a title and make sure that it was spectacular and that time has been well-spent, when our competitors go to market before something was ready, bad things happen. That said, that said, I’m highly confident on the new date.”
The value of that confidence is not what it once was. Here’s what Zelnick said the first time fans started to worry about a potential GTA 6 delay.
“Look, there’s always a risk of slippage and I think as soon as you say words like ‘absolutely,’ you jinx things,” he told IGN last February, back when it the game was still slated to arrive in fall 2025. “So we feel really good about it.”
Jinx! Three months later, the game was delayed to May 2026.
Zelnick was asked what his “level of conviction” was for that new date in August. “[My] level of conviction is very, very high, obviously,” he told CNBC. He elaborated as little as possible: “We try not to pump expectations, right? I think Rockstar’s whole stock and trade is to have these extraordinary expectations and still to beat them. I know that’s their goal. I know it’s going to be an amazing game. The rest we’ll see in the fullness of time.”
Jinx! Three months later, the game has been delayed until November 2026.
Why keep announcing release dates that Rockstar can’t hit? “It’s not that far in advance if you look at when you need to deliver a game to get it out,” Zelnick told The Game Business. “Also, we have to start marketing activities in a significant amount of time ahead of release. What we want to do is give consumers as much certainty as possible. And again, we feel quite good about this date.”
Except that the delivery date is moving farther away, not getting closer. Back In April 2025, GTA 6′s release was just six months away. Now it’s more than a year. What are the odds we still don’t see it in 2026?
That’s the multi-billion-dollar question facing more than just Rockstar, Take-Two, and fans. I’m sure every developer with a game shipping next year is also wondering what to believe. Their best bet is probably to consult a magic 8 ball.
