GTA 6 Development Timeline: Everything You Need To Know

Read more to find out the development timeline of GTA 6 and how many times Rockstar Games has delayed the game.

Many fans are disheartened by the development timeline of GTA 6. What was once a planned 2025 release has turned into a late 2026 release. The game has been in development for quite some time now. It has been a decade since GTA 5’s release, making fans even more eager to see a new Grand Theft Auto game.

With fans growing impatient, it makes sense to count how many delays GTA 6 has had so far. This guide discusses those delays and will be updated when new information becomes available.

How Many Times Has GTA 6 Been Delayed?

For those who are curious, Rockstar Games has delayed GTA 6 twice, so far. The game was originally set to release in 2025.

First Delay (May 26, 2026)

The first delay happened when the developers pushed the release date to May 26, 2026. In a post, Rockstar Games announced that the game’s release would be postponed to May 26, 2026. The reason for the delay was to further polish the game and deliver the best experience for players.

Grand Theft Auto VI is now set to release on May 26, 2026. https://t.co/YgaIn1cYc8 pic.twitter.com/cyeK7GM6Ob
— Rockstar Games (@RockstarGames) May 2, 2025

This announcement disappointed fans, but it was not surprising for those familiar with Rockstar Games. The studio is known for delaying the release of its titles. Everyone was already joking about how long it was taking for the game to release. However, the silver lining in this news was that Take-Two, the parent company of Rockstar Games, assured fans that the game is on track and will not be delayed. Unfortunately, it looks like that was not the case.

Second Delay (November 19, 2026)

In another post, around six months after the first delay announcement, Rockstar announced yet another delay for the release of the Grand Theft Auto sequel. The post was brief, apologizing to fans for the delay and assuring them that it was necessary to ensure the game received the polish it needed. The new GTA 6 release date is November 19, 2026.

The delay was so long that Guinness World Records retweeted the post. They also shared a fun fact about the game with the longest development period. Duke Nukem Forever holds the record for this with 14 years and 43 days. The game was officially announced back in April 28, 1977, and was released on June 10, 2011. As for GTA 6, it’s not even half of the record, for now. The game was confirmed to be in development back in February 4, 2022. With the second delay stating its’ release to be on November 19, 2025, that’s around 4 years and 9 months, and 15 days.

Current record for the longest development period for a videogame? 14 years and 43 days.

Officially announced on 28 April 1997 by developer 3D Realms, the FPS 'Duke Nukem Forever' was finally released on 10 June 2011. https://t.co/8XBZGM3i98
— Guinness World Records (@GWR) November 6, 2025

That said, it’s fair to wonder if Rockstar might delay GTA 6 once more. Hopefully, this will be the last time we have to wait this long. That said, we will keep updating this article with more information if another delay happens.

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