GTA 6 Delays Officially Explained By Rockstar Games

It's been a long time coming, but "Grand Theft Auto VI" is finally just a month away. The game is slated to release on November 19, 2026. However, that's after two major delays. Originally, Rockstar's upcoming crime caper was slated for launch back in 2025 and then in May 2026.

Video game delays are nothing new, but for such a high-profile game as "GTA VI," it stings to wait for a few more months, even after over a decade since 2013's "Grand Theft Auto V." Sure, there was the incredible "Red Dead Redemption II" back in 2018, but even that was eight years ago. The fans are hungry for more "Grand Theft Auto," so the question is, why did it take so long?

Video game development is not an exact science. When a game is described as being "50% complete," that's a misnomer. Plans change. Designs are thrown out, scripts are rewritten, scenarios are cut and replaced, and there are literally thousands of people working on "Grand Theft Auto VI." Jason Schreier of Bloomberg recently published a story about the development of "GTA VI" and shared his insight on why the game was delayed multiple times from its original 2025 release window.

Originally, "GTA VI" was developed under the codename, "Project Americas." This was way back in 2014 or so, when the team was simultaneously working on "Red Dead Redemption II." The initial scope of the game was massive, with the setting encompassing parts of both North and South America. Eventually, that was truncated to just the greater Vice City area, based on Miami. However, I wouldn't be at all surprised if we'll go to South America at some point during the game, much like the Guarma portion of "Red Dead Redemption II."

According to the Bloomberg article, the original plan was for progress on "GTA VI" and "RDR II" to progress simultaneously, but like all plans, it didn't quite work out. In order to complete "RDR II" by 2018, Rockstar required all hands on deck, which meant all but abandoning "GTA VI" and delaying the game by years. And then there was the worldwide Coronavirus pandemic in 2020, which pushed the game back even more, with Schreier estimating that it cost the game at least a year of additional dev time.

That brings us to the initial, and overly optimistic, release window of 2025. But on a game of a considerable size and scale, there are countless variables that can add up and result in delays. With that in mind, it wouldn't be a stretch to suggest that "Grand Theft Auto VI" is shaping up to be one of the biggest, densest, most ambitious games of all time.

Several things happened that surely impacted the "GTA VI" development timeline, one of which was the departure of Dan Houser, one of the big bosses at Rockstar and a leader on every mainline "GTA" game since 2001's "Grand Theft Auto III." He also was a considerable force on titles like "Red Dead Redemption" and "Max Payne 3." With him leaving the company, Rob Nelson, Phil Hooker, and Aaron Garbut found themselves sharing "Head of Development" duties. Without a single person calling the shots and making decisions, it's easy for developers to feel a bit aimless, which leads to proverbial directional wheel-spinning.

That issue was compounded by Rockstar's hiring spree. In an effort to avoid crunch, the studio bolstered its ranks, growing from 2,441 employees in 2018 to 4,711 in recent years. On one hand, a lot of people can get a lot of work done more quickly, but on the other, the bigger the ship, the harder it is to steer, so to speak.

A larger team can accommodate a larger scope, but communication across studios becomes slower and the cost of changes in direction becomes greater. All of that adds up to multiple delays. But with each delay, according to the Bloomberg article, the project becomes more focused. I suppose it's the difference between making a game and finishing one.

As of this writing, "GTA VI" is little more than a month away. Nothing is ever 100% certain, but it seems like a safe bet the game won't be delayed again. When it releases, "GTA VI" will be the culmination of over a decade of development, multiple pivots, leadership changes, and innovations from both "GTA V" and "RDR II."

Rockstar Games has always been on the cutting-edge of innovation. On one hand, you might want a game that has a rock-solid design document, a manageable budget, a locked-in schedule, and an unflinching release date. But, for better or worse, that's not how you change the industry. Every Rockstar Games title, from "GTA III" onwards, has changed the way we look at games. It took multiple delays for us to get to where we are, but it looks like "GTA VI" is shaping up to do what Rockstar always does: change the way we look at video games.