Update: Following a controversial report, Kotaku now says that Grand Theft Auto 6 no longer aims for an early 2025 launch, and that Rockstar's goal is reportedly Fall 2025.
You can read our coverage of Kotaku's report below:
Grand Theft Auto VI, the most highly-anticipated videogame in the world, could miss its 2025 release window and be delayed to 2026 if sources included to a recent report are to be believed. When Rockstar Games officially announced GTA 6's 2025 release window in December 2023, some fans were disappointed to learn that they will have to wait at least one more year before the open-world game launches for the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S. However, there has been a bit of optimism that GTA 6 could be released in early 2025, but it looks like that hope might slip away.
In Kotaku's report published on Friday, sources close to Rockstar Games claim that GTA 6's release could be delayed to 2026. Kotaku starts off by saying that Rockstar's current goal is to launch the game in "early 2025", specifically in Spring. However, the outlet said that their sources say that "it's becoming more and more likely" GTA 6 will be delayed into late 2025. According to the anonymous sources, if the production reportedly falls behind, "it could even slip into 2026".
Last month, Bloomberg reported that Rockstar Games was mandating its employees to return to the office to work five days a week beginning in April 2024. This is likely due to Rockstar being worried of potential leaks and productivity dropping, but the drastic change and short notice may have led to frustration from staff who feel like they are being pressured to work in office after being hired remotely, as Aftermath reported earlier this month.
Will GTA 6 be delayed to 2026?
Kotaku reported that sources told them that a Fall 2024 launch date for GTA 6 "seems more plausible", and the possibility of delaying the game to 2026 is considered as a sort of "emergency" option or "fallback plan" if needed. With the anonymous sources telling Kotaku that development on the game has started "falling behind", the outlet reported that some within the higher ranks of Rockstar Games have become "nervous and worried" about GTA 6 launching in 2026 instead.
If you read Bloomberg's report in February again and now this, it's easy to see that that they would rather release the game in 2025 and avoid investor wariness and fan disappointment. Of course, players would rather take the hit of a delay if it means more time for the developers to polish the game. While a push to 2026 sounds possible if the report from Kotaku is to be believed, the outlet noted that Rockstar "historically waits until the 'last minute' to make changes or alter plans', but until we can get a concrete 2025 launch date, some fans will likely still be worried that GTA 6 could be delayed to 2026.
For now though, we can take this report as a grain of salt until we get any official updates from Rockstar Games. Stay tuned as we will keep you updated here on Epicflix, and follow our GTA 6 News Source page on Facebook to get notified with our latest reports.
