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Videogame publisher Rockstar Games has just announced the official release date for GTA 6 in a social media post.
“Grand Theft Auto VI is now set to release on May 26, 2026,” the post reads. Originally due to launch in autumn of this year, the game has been a long time coming, with fans awaiting news since the first trailer for the game was posted in December 2023.
The post continues: “We are very sorry that this is later than you expected. The interest and excitement surrounding a new Grand Theft Auto has been truly humbling for our entire team. We want to thank you for your support and your patience as we work to finish the game.
“With every game we have released, the goal has always been to try and exceed your expectations, and Grand Theft Auto VI is no exception. We hope you understand that we need this extra time to deliver at the level of quality you expect and deserve. We look forward to sharing more information with you soon.”
This comes after Strauss Zelnick, CEO of Rockstar’s parent company Take-Two, said that this calendar year is shaping up to be one of the “strongest ever”, and announced the autumn plans for GTA 6 and Borderlands 4. The latter is still due to launch in September.
While Zelnick admitted to IGN that there is always a chance GTA 6 could be delayed, he sounded confident of its autumn 2025 release. “Look, there’s always a risk of slippage, and I think as soon as you say words like ‘absolutely’, you jinx things,” he told the publication after the earnings call.
For now, we can still wait for a second trailer. The first trailer, which now has over a quarter of a billion views, was released in December 2024, coinciding with Rockstar Games’s 25th anniversary. At the time, it broke several viewership records on YouTube.
So, what do we know about GTA 6? When could the game be released? And how much could it cost? We’ve got all the details about the upcoming instalment of the franchise.
‘GTA 6’ release date and trailer: When will the game launch?
The first-look trailer in December 2023 gave fans a release window – at the end of the 90-second teaser, when the titles flash up on the screen, underneath in bold white letters are the words “Coming 2025”. But the latest announcement has pushed it back even further. The date of 26 May 2026 was given in the official social media post announcing the delay.
It’s worth looking at the release schedule for Rockstar’s most recent game, Red Dead Redemption 2, for more release date clues. Red Dead Redemption 2’s first teaser trailer was released in October 2016, and the company said the game would be released in the second half of 2017.
It was then pushed back twice, first to early 2018, before finally being given an official release date of 26 October 2018 – two years after the teaser trailer dropped.
Timeline of ‘GTA 6’ release date delays
In March 2024, rumours began to swirl about a delay to the GTA 6 release date. A report published by Kotaku revealed insiders at Rockstar believed the game would be pushed back to late 2025 or even early 2026.
In February 2024, Rockstar mandated that its workers return to the office five days a week. Kotaku says that while security and quality were reportedly the main reasons, the publication was told by its sources that development on GTA 6 had started “falling behind,” with its sources stating the leadership at Rockstar was nervous about the game missing its 2025 window.
Kotaku added: “While early 2025 was at one point possible, it’s no longer the target for Grand Theft Auto VI’s launch”. That became apparent when Strauss revealed in May last year that the new target for GTA 6 is autumn 2025.
In December 2024, Zelnick further stoked anticipation when Mather asked him to sum up GTA 6 in a few words. He replied: “I think it’ll be extraordinary and worth waiting for,” later adding, “I think it’ll be breathtaking”.
In its most recent earnings call, Take-Two, the publisher of GTA 6, confirmed that it was on track for a 2025 release date. But now we have the updated date of 26 May 2026.
Right now, we’re keeping our eyes peeled for a second trailer, which may give away a few more details about the game’s storyline and official confirmation.
‘GTA 6’ location: Where is Vice City?
In September 2022, a hacker leaked 90 videos and screenshots of GTA 6. The footage and screenshots were described as early development, but they all but confirmed the game would be taking place in Vice City. This was then officially confirmed in the first-look trailer.
Vice City is heavily based on the coastal city of Miami. In the trailer, we see news packages and road signs featuring location names, suggesting the Vice City map is going to be significantly bigger than the original 2002 game. Reddit users have already been mocking up maps of Vice City based on the leak.
The trailer gives us confirmation that Vice City is based in the fictional US state of Leonida, with one fictional social media post stating, “Only in Leonida is a crotch grab an apology for bad driving.” Other road signs read VCI Airport, Catalan Boulevard, Kelly County, Vice Beaches and Port VC/Keys.
‘GTA 6’ story and characters: Who will be the main protagonists in the new game?
Like GTA V, the latest title will feature more than one protagonist. A 2022 leak introduced us to GTA 6’s new protagonists, with much of the footage showing a Latin American woman called Lucia and an unnamed man, reportedly called Jason.
The latest game is rumoured to be based on the real-life criminals Bonnie and Clyde, according to someone familiar with the game’s development. We got a better look at Lucia in the first-look trailer. In the opening shot, she’s seen wearing a prison uniform, talking to, we assume, a parole officer.
New York actor Gregory Connors is reported to be playing Jason in GTA 6. Though the casting hasn’t been officially confirmed, Connors listed a ‘lead’ role in a 2025 Rockstar game in a recent CV update. The speculation follows days after Troy Baker, the renowned videogame voice actor best known for his lead roles in The Last of Us and Uncharted, confirmed he wasn’t playing any of the main protagonists in GTA 6.
GTA V was the first in the series to introduce three playable protagonists – Michael, Trevor and Franklin – and the upcoming game is expected to follow a similar pattern, with players able to swap between characters in between missions.
How much is ‘GTA 6’ going to cost?
It’s not often you see discourse online about the price of a game years before its release, but with leakers and insiders suggesting the game has a budget of $1bn to $2bn, fans are speculating the game could be more expensive as a result. The leading rumour suggests the game will cost $150 (£120).
We think this is highly unlikely, however. Most AAA games start from about £69.99, with deluxe editions costing up to £100. We wouldn’t expect this to change, even if the budget were in the $1bn ballpark.
What console will ‘GTA 6’ be on and is ‘GTA 6’ cross-platform?
According to Rockstar Games, GTA 6 will run on the PS5 and the Xbox Series X, but what about the Nintendo Switch 2 and 4K and 60fps?
Nintendo fans will be pleased to hear Zelnick’s latest comments. After Take-Two’s latest earnings call, Zelnick was asked about support for the Nintendo Switch 2. “There was a time when Nintendo platforms were really geared at younger audiences, and that was reflected in our release schedule. And now today with Switch and potentially with Switch 2, the Switch device can support any audience,” Eurogamer reported he said. “As you may have noted, Civilization 7 is now on Switch. So while we have nothing specific to report, we actually would fully expect to support Switch [2].”
As for 4K and 60fps on the PS5 Pro? Right now, the experts aren’t convinced. In September 2024, IGN asked Richard Leadbetter of Digital Foundry if the PS5 Pro could run GTA 6 at 60fps, the answer was a resounding no.
“No. Grand Theft Auto games have always run complex simulations that push the CPU hard, which is why every GTA game has initially launched on its target platforms at 30fps (or lower). The PS5 Pro uses the same CPU as the PS5, and it would be extremely challenging to hit 60fps if the base PS5 version is targeting 30fps,” Leadbetter explained.
What about the Xbox One and PS4? Both the PS5 and Xbox Series X will be five years old by the time GTA 6 is released, so it’s not a certainty that the older consoles will be supported. Rockstar hasn’t confirmed whether the game will be available on the PC, and has not outlined whether it will support cross-platform play either.
Best ‘GTA’ deals
PlayStation 5 Slim with ‘GTA 5’: Was £499, now £489, Very.co.uk
While there are currently no deals on the standalone PS5 Slim console, if you buy the console from Very, the retailer will throw in a copy of the PS5 version of GTA 5 for just £10, saving you £10.
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