Grand Theft Auto VI delay has reportedly caused chaos at other studios

A new report shows that the recent delay of Grand Theft Auto VI, now scheduled for release in May 2026, has had a major impact on the gaming industry as studios and publishers try to plan their next steps in fear (or hope) that Rockstar might push back the release date again.

Last week, Rockstar announced that the release date for Grand Theft Auto VI is being moved back from the end of 2025, which had been previously announced. Instead, the sequel to the popular GTA V, which is one of the best-selling games of all-time, is scheduled to launch on May 26, 2026. Many fans were not happy with the delay, but Rockstar managed to regain their trust with an impressive new trailer and over 70 screenshots. Meanwhile, many other publishers and developers working on big games were taken by surprise and forced to re-evaluate their plans.

A report from Bloomberg on May 9 revealed that several developers, who chose to remain anonymous, discussed their teams working on certain games. These teams had previously postponed their launches internally to prevent Grand Theft Auto VI from being released first. Now they hope that the game won't be delayed again until the end of 2026, which could further sabotage their own plans. Meanwhile, there are others who would prefer an extension of the schedule to be able to postpone their own games until 2027 and have more time for development.