In the aftermath of the GTA 6 delay and release of trailer 2, Rockstar Games’ parent company Take-Two Interactive has given out new financial reports to shareholders plus the CEO has taken part in interviews to share his confidence in the release date.
Confidence At The Top
We now know Rockstar Games have pencilled in May 26th 2026 for GTA VI’s release date but how confident are they? Rockstar’s parent company, and its CEO, are. Speaking with IGN , Strauss Zelnick who runs Take-Two told the outlet that “when we set a specific date, generally speaking, we’ve been very good about reaching it.”
This was reiterated in an interview with The Game Business: “when we set a specific date, that ends up being the date.” Of course, anything can happen between now and May 2026. Games are complex but GTA VI has been confirmed by Take-Two to be Rockstar’s most complex game ever.
GTA Online Updates Equivalent Of New GTA Games?
Fans have been wondering why it has taken over a decade to get a new GTA game. Some have forgotten Rockstar spent several years crafting Red Dead Redemption 2 and dozens upon dozens of GTA Online updates. Whilst those have made a lot of money and kept people entertained, it is still not the same as a brand new game.
Zelnick has a response to those who think it has taken a long time. In an interview with The Game Business, he said “One could really argue that Rockstar has been putting out a new Grand Theft Auto release a couple of times a year.”
This line might make a few GTA fans not so pleased. Sure, GTA Online has introduced an incredible amount of content over the past decade and more but it is still not quite a new story mode entry into the Grand Theft Auto series.
The big boss went onto say “Same thing holds true for Red Dead Online, which has been ongoing. And in the most recent quarter, Grand Theft Auto Online and Red Dead Online has exceeded expectations.“
True, though Red Dead Online fans have been left in the dust in terms of substantial new content updates. So much so, groups of players have started movements on social media to earn Rockstar’s attention. Red Dead fans are not giving up after feeling like they have been forgotten.
Rockstar had no idea GTA Online was going to be a roaring success when it launched to major issues in 2013. Zelnick states their strategy “requires our teams to create more content quite properly, to support that content and to market that content. I would argue that Rockstar is delivering to its consumer base daily, and it has been doing that for quite some time, basically since 2014.“
Discussing The Delay
We heard earlier this week that many game developers were affected by the delay. Some are happy with the delay to give them some space this year to release their game. Meanwhile, panic is the feeling among others. Zelnick told The Game Business “I love that there’s that speculation going on. It’s flattering” in terms of the release date reveal. Now that developers have a date to work around, a sense of relief was felt. Though Zelnick quipped “No-one has sent me any flowers” as a thank you.
Another question fans have is what about 2025? They were supposed to get a brand new game in this calendar year. So, what will fill that gap? Sure, more GTA Online updates will come but it is unknown how much content given GTA VI was meant to release in a few months. Perhaps a new GTA IV port for current consoles? It does seem like it could be a real possibility. The delay could also mean the Max Payne Remakes are pushed into later 2026. Either way, 2026 will be immense for Rockstar Games fans.
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