The GTA 6 delay to May 2026 has not only impacted fans but the rest of the industry. From retail to developers, Rockstar’s announcement has hit hard. Even though not every gamer cares about the new GTA game, it is the most anticipated game of all time and it will be eating up most of the dollars and time anyone can spend on games when it releases.
The GTA 6 delay was “inevitable” according to sources at Rockstar via Bloomberg’s Jason Schreier. However, that did not stop the rest of the industry planning on its release for this Fall as Take-Two had been saying for over a year.
Dreaded Delay
Schreier has since revealed in an article some insight into what has been going on at other large gaming publishers. According to people he spoke to at game developers, there is “panic”.
An example given is that this company is currently making a multiplayer game. It was originally aiming to release in Fall 2025 but moved out of GTA VI’s way to Spring 2026. Now GTA VI is taking that window they are at risk of delaying the game yet again which is very expensive to do. Or, they take a shot at launching near GTA VI. The issue with releasing near GTA VI might be suffocation. There’s only so much money and time to go around.
Another Delay?
That is not all. Whilst many fans are confident in Rockstar hitting that May 26th 2026 release date, anything could happen in the next year. Yet another delay to later in 2026 is not impossible.
Jason shares that some developers would be happy to see another delay meaning they in turn can delay their games to 2027. That’s an extra 6-12 months of production. Whereas others are “praying” there is not another delay. You can read Jason’s full article here.
One of the games impacted by they delay is another Rockstar title: the Max Payne 1 & 2 Remake. It was targeting a release before the end of June 2026 according to analysts. Given Rockstar are publishing and marketing the game it is likely we won’t see it out until after GTA VI has taken over.
This whole situation is rather fascinating even if a tad scary. GTA VI is getting ever closer to release after around 7 years in development so far which is less than people think. To tide people over, Rockstar may release a port of GTA IV to current gen consoles this year if an insider’s source at Rockstar is to be believed.
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