GTA 6 at High Risk of Third Delay As Employee Speaks Out

Things clearly aren’t going too well over at Rockstar Games, as a newly released statement from one of the developer’s recently fired employees has revealed that morale at the company is at an all-time low.

In case you somehow missed the barrage of social media posts explaining as much last night, I have some bad news for you: Rockstar Games has officially announced that Grand Theft Auto VI has been delayed for a second time, and will now release on November 19, 2026.

The news was somewhat unsurprising, given Rockstar Games’ track record, but some fans, clearly desperate for someone to blame, seem to be pointing fingers in the wrong direction.

Earlier last week, Rockstar Games fired 34 employees for, as a spokesperson for the company stated, “distributing and discussing confidential information in a public forum, a violation of our company policies”.

The statement from Rockstar Games has since been refuted by IWGB president Alex Marshall, who, following two protests outside of Take-Two’s offices yesterday, stated that the “real reason” was due to union-busting.

“Management are showing they don't care about delays to GTA 6, and that they're prioritising union busting by targeting the very people who make the game”, Marshall revealed.

Raul Bautista from GTA VI recieving news of a potential third delay, Rockstar Games

Unfortunately, parts of the online community have taken to blaming the 34 fired employees for the second GTA VI delay.

Jason Schreier, who broke the original story, has since clarified (thank you GameRoll) that the firings and the delay are completely unrelated, stating: “The game did not slip six months because 34 people were fired a week ago. It was announced today because Take-Two reported earnings today [6 November].”

One apparent employee who seemingly still works at Rockstar Games has decided to speak up in light of the discourse online, in a post over on GTAForums. While they understandably wish to remain anonymous, their story was verified by a moderator on the site.

I think the entire post is worth a read, but here’s the bit I think is most interesting: “Just one week before, the Union had reached ~200 members taking us over the 10% threshold required to seek recognition and begin engaging in collective bargaining. Allowing us to negotiate directly with management on the key issues that affect us: worsening crunch, inadequate pay and inflexible working arrangements.

“Morale in the studio is at rock bottom. When we should be excited about what's to come over the next year we are now totally deflated and our trust and confidence in others is totally shot.”

In short, the future isn’t looking too bright over at Rockstar Games, and there’s a very good chance that, if morale is truly as low as this statement implies, Grand Theft Auto VI won’t be making the new November 2026 release date either.

Personally, I’d rather wait until 2030 to play it if it meant that the devs who produce the game were treated fairly in the process. Frankly, I’d rather it didn’t come out at all, if it’s been built on the back of other people’s suffering.