In our 2025 previews final 12 months, we made a prediction that appears naive in hindsight.
“There are only a few certainties in life, however GTA 6 being the most important media launch of 2025 is about as near a positive factor as you may ever get”, we wrote.
Little did we all know {that a} full 12 months down the road, we’d not solely be right here speaking about Grand Theft Auto 6 as soon as once more, however doing so with the information that it’s nonetheless not less than one other 11 months away.
Since that final preview, the sport has suffered not one, however two main delays. Initially introduced to launch in fall 2025, earlier this 12 months Rockstar posted a press release saying that the sport had been moved again to Might twenty sixth, 2026.
Then, final month, Rockstar said that it had been delayed as soon as once more, this time to November nineteenth, 2026, thereby pushing it a full 12 months previous its initially proposed launch window.
The longer it takes to launch, the extra stress builds on Rockstar Video games to ship on what is way and away essentially the most hyped online game in latest reminiscence. Folks aren’t simply anticipating GTA 6 to be wonderful – something apart from among the best video video games ever created will likely be thought of a failure.
In spite of everything, there are only a few media releases – we’re speaking video video games, motion pictures, music, books, TV exhibits, something – which have earned such a level of mass anticipation, to the extent that there’s now a long-running “can’t imagine we received X earlier than GTA 6” joke on-line, treating its launch as some form of anno domini of in style tradition.
By the point Grand Theft Auto 6 is launched, it’ll have been a full 13 years since its predecessor. Gamers are anticipating not simply your typical sequel, however a generational shift over what sport earlier than – fairly actually, when you think about that some gamers who will legally be capable to purchase the sport had been solely 5 years outdated when GTA 5 was launched.
Inner stress to ship is one factor, however exterior stress – from previously inside sources, mockingly – has made issues much more difficult for Rockstar in latest weeks, following its resolution to fireside round 30 staff, in a case which has acquired sufficient consideration to have been talked about in Parliament.
“Gamers are anticipating not simply your typical sequel, however a generational shift over what sport earlier than – fairly actually, when you think about that some gamers who will legally be capable to purchase the sport had been solely 5 years outdated when GTA 5 was launched.”
Rockstar claims the staff had been leaking confidential data, the staff declare Rockstar fired them for making an attempt to start out a union. Regardless of the motive, it’s clearly an additional complication that the studio doesn’t want at a very essential time within the growth of such an vital product, and a speedy decision doesn’t seem like on the playing cards.
Placing its potential employment troubles to the facet for now, Rockstar nonetheless appears to be like set to take pleasure in one one of many largest media launches in historical past, with the very actual potential to interrupt information, and the discharge of the second trailer earlier this 12 months did nothing to dampen that hype.
Receiving practically half a billion views on its first day alone, the newest trailer for GTA 6 gave gamers a significantly better take a look at protagonists Lucia and Jason, in addition to the Florida-inspired state of Leonida the place it will likely be set.
It’s clear from each trailers that GTA 6 will proceed the sequence’ custom of providing a satirical tackle US tradition, however on condition that we now dwell in an period the place the trivia of society is damaged down on social media on a minute-by-minute foundation and the place actuality – particularly on this planet of politics – is commonly extra ridiculous than something fictonal, it stays to be seen whether or not GTA 6’s commentary will make the identical waves the sequence used to, or whether or not it’ll now be a mere drop within the ocean of opinion.
It’ll even be fascinating to see what occurs to GTA On-line, the multiplayer element of GTA 5, which continues to show a particularly wholesome revenue for Rockstar’s companion Take-Two greater than a decade after its launch. Will the writer push for the same technique with its NBA 2K and WWE 2K video games and demand that assist for the outdated GTA On-line cease on the day its GTA 6 alternative arrives, or will it’s cautious of rocking the money canoe it has simply now and like a extra gradual transition to the brand new GTA On-line expertise?
With its new launch sat for November 19, it might nonetheless be plenty of months till we get the solutions to these questions, and the net meme will be capable to cite loads extra main occasions – one other FIFA World Cup, the Winter Olympics, the US Midterms, the second Tremendous Mario Bros Film – set to occur earlier than we get GTA 6.
That’s, in fact, till Rockstar decides to delay it once more, and now we have to put in writing about it once more once we do our 2027 Previews subsequent 12 months.
Extra 2026 sport previews:
