At this point, saying Grand Theft Auto VI is the most anticipated game in years feels like a given. Fans were initially bracing for a fall 2025 release, but Rockstar Games has now pushed the date back to May 26, 2026. And according to one of the most trusted voices in gaming, that new date may not hold either.
Although the delay was disappointing for fans, it also brought relief to some in the video game industry. Many companies had been waiting to see what Rockstar Games would do before locking in their own release dates, and with GTA VI moving to 2026, they now have more room to breathe.
Still, industry analyst Jason Schreier warns that the title might face yet another delay, a possibility that smaller studios might quietly welcome.
Could GTA VI Be Delayed Again?
Speculation about a possible delay had been swirling for months, and Rockstar’s recent announcement proved those rumors right. While the studio tried to soften the blow with a new trailer, the news still raised fresh concerns about whether they’ll be able to meet the new timeline.
Schreier, one of the most trusted voices in gaming journalism, even emphasized in a recent Bloomberg report that the new May 2026 date is not set in stone.
“There’s no guarantee that May 2026 is a sure thing,” he wrote.
This pattern wouldn’t be unusual. GTA V only faced a single delay, but Red Dead Redemption 2 was postponed more than once before it finally hit the shelves in 2018. A similar path for GTA VI wouldn’t surprise anyone in the industry.
Developers Hoping for Another Setback
GTA VI is shaping up to be one of the biggest games ever, so it makes sense that other studios are strategizing around it. Schreier says many companies are trying to guess whether Rockstar will make or miss the new deadline.
“It’s a massive game of 4D chess playing out across the entire video-game industry, as business analysts at every major company try to discern whether Rockstar will actually finish the game in time,” he stated.
According to Schreier, one studio working on a major online title had already pushed their release window from fall 2025 to spring 2026, hoping to avoid a clash with GTA VI and gain time to polish.
Even Hideo Kojima has acknowledged that GTA VI played a role in determining the launch window for Death Stranding 2. Electronic Arts also stated that the release landscape is now “much clearer” regarding the next Battlefield game.
Do you think GTA VI will get pushed back again? Let us know in the comments.