In a weird, utopian universe, Grand Theft Auto VI would already be in our hands by now. The first reveal trailer did point to a 2025 release date, but few of us really expected it would reach that window. Now, we've seen the game pushed into a May 2026 date and then into November next year. Another delay is possible, as is anything, really, but former Rockstar animator Mike York doesn't think it'll happen. He's also pretty fond of the current release date, and thinks Rockstar will be too.
"I think the game will be released in November 2026 as it's a good time for the game to come out for Rockstar for multiple reasons to sell video games. If you want to sell a big amount of video games then that's the perfect time for GTA 6 to come out with it being a month before Christmas," he told Esports Insider (via Dexerto). "Usually companies only delay these things once or twice when they need to, so I think it will come out around that time."
Regarding a delay, York believes it could be dire for excitement around the game. "If Rockstar Games delay GTA 6 again then the hype around the game will die down almost completely...Everyone knows there's no news, there's nothing to talk about... There's a point to where you delay something so much that you start to make people angry"
While we certainly see York's point, and have seen games in the past that just lose their audience due to a string of delays or build up an unreachable level of expectations, this is GTA we're talking about. We saw Hollow Knight: Silksong drum up hype again two weeks before its launch after years of silence, and the Half-Life 3 speculation has shown when people think they'll get something they've wanted for a long time, they will go rabid for it.