Back in February, I asked Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick how confident he felt about Grand Theft Auto VI’s then-planned Fall 2025 launch window. He told me he felt "very optimistic" about it. Three months later—perhaps unsurprisingly—GTA VI was officially delayed to May 26, 2026.
What shifted during that period? That’s precisely what I asked Zelnick in a fresh interview tied to Take-Two’s recently released financial report. He explained that as development neared completion, the need for additional polish "became evident."
“As we approach the final stages of a title that strives for perfection, the necessity—or lack thereof—for continued refinement becomes clear,” Zelnick stated. “Here, we saw a chance with a modest amount of extra time, in our view, to ensure Rockstar Games realizes its full creative vision without constraints. And naturally, I endorsed that direction.”
While GTA VI's move into the next fiscal year impacts Take-Two’s short-term financial outlook, Zelnick assured me he remains enthusiastic about the company’s upcoming slate—including Gearbox’s Borderlands 4, Hangar 13’s Mafia: The Old Country, and new entries in the NBA 2K and WWE 2K series.
“Sitting here today, I feel very positive about how Fiscal Year 2026 is shaping up,” he noted. “And while delays are certainly disappointing—how could they not be?—the most crucial thing is to support your development teams in their pursuit of excellence.”
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The natural follow-up question was the same one I posed back in February: How confident are you that Rockstar will meet the May 26, 2026 release date? This time, Zelnick conveyed even greater certainty:
“Historically, whenever we’ve set a concrete launch date, we've generally been very reliable at hitting it.”
To me, that strongly implies GTA VI won't face another delay—without explicitly stating it. Of course, nothing is guaranteed, but now that the game has an official release date, another postponement would come as a major surprise.
The release of GTA VI's second trailer and the accompanying details from Rockstar have fueled widespread speculation about what players can expect from what is poised to become the highest-selling video game ever. Some Grand Theft Auto enthusiasts even speculate that Liberty City could feature in GTA VI either at launch or as downloadable content after release.
While we await more news, we have extensive coverage on GTA VI, including all the information we've uncovered to date, a collection of 70 new screenshots, and expert analysis on how GTA VI will perform on the PS5 Pro.
