GTA 6 delayed as Rockstar confirms May 2026 release date

Ladies and gentlemen, GTA VI finally has a release date, and it’s unfortunately confirmed our biggest fears.

Rockstar Games just dropped the release date on its official Twitter/X account, confirming that the game will launch next year on 26 May 2026.

Check out the trailer for GTA VI below

The post was accompanied by a short letter explaining the reasoning behind the delay, with Rockstar Games apologising profusely for needing to push back the game's release date.

As to why this needed to happen, the developer discussed how it also aims to provide the best titles possible for its fans and players, and wants to ensure that GTA VI is one of those titles.

The post ended by saying: "We hope you understand that we need this extra time to deliver at the level of quality you expect and deserve," along with the developer's thanks.

This is devastating news for many fans, I’m sure, as a delay was almost always on the cards but never expected to be a reality, but in hindsight it was bizarre that there was basically no sign of the marketing starting despite already having a trailer for the game.

It makes you wonder what state the game is currently in, as that first trailer could have fooled us into thinking it was pretty much finished and ready to ship, though with open-world titles like this, a lot of time is required for polish and ensuring all the pieces work together in harmony.

On the bright side, this is good news for other studios that want to release games this year, as it's believed many were reluctant to share their Q3/Q4 release dates until GTA VI had one announced.

So now we wait until 2026, something I'm sure the Grand Theft Auto fan community will take very well... at least there's more time to think up theories now right...?