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GTA 6 is officially delayed, but we now have a firm release date

Lucia and her partner rob a store in GTA 6.
Rockstar Games

Rockstar has announced GTA 6 is delayed, while revealing the new release date the hotly anticipated game will actually be available.

The GTA 6 release date is set for May 26, 2026 – which is a considerable time after the original ‘Fall 2025’ timeframe we were given in the first GTA VI trailer which dropped way back in December 2023.

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In what will be a blow to fans, Rockstar said in a statement that it’s “very sorry”, admitting the reason behind the decision was the studio needed “extra time to deliver at the level of quality you expect and deserve.”

The new release date means gamers will have been waiting 12 years, eight months and nine days since the release of GTA 5 for GA 6 to finally arrive – assuming there are no further delays.

Exceeding expectations

The Rockstar statement goes on to say “with every game we have released, the goal has always been to try and exceed your expectations, and Grand Theft Auto VI is no exception.”

Grand Theft Auto VI is now set to release on May 26, 2026. https://t.co/YgaIn1cYc8 pic.twitter.com/cyeK7GM6Ob

— Rockstar Games (@RockstarGames) May 2, 2025

While fans will no doubt be disappointed with the news of the delay, even if some were suspecting it might happen, the silver lining is that we now have an official GTA 6 release date we can circle in our calendars – even if it is 389 days away.

The hope is that with Rockstar having set an exact release rate we won’t see any more delays, but we can never totally rule it out.

Rockstar signs off by saying “we look forward to sharing more information with you soon”, so perhaps at second trailer may not be too far off? We’ll have to wait and see.

For now, why not give the GTA 6 trailer another watch. For old times sake. Just remember to close your eyes at 1:24 to avoid the “Coming 2025” text.

John McCann
John is Managing Editor at Digital Trends. He's been a consumer technology & automotive journalist for over a decade.
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