Rockstar Games delayed GTA 6 yet again this week but the game is actually closer to the finish line than you might think. According to multiple sources who have shared what they’ve heard from Rockstar Games employees, the game is “content complete”.
The first talk of the game being “content complete” came from game developer interviewer Reece “Kiwi Talkz” Reilly. He’s previously interviewed ex-Rockstar Games developers and has since shared what he knows about GTA VI’s development in a Tweet. Reilly revealed developers had told him prior to the delay announcement that there was going to be a delay. Furthermore, he added that “the game is content complete” and it is all about polishing the game to avoid a disastrous launch.
Some fans were surprised polishing the game could take a year or more and disputed this claim. However, Reilly who is well versed in game development details and has shared inside information on status of Nintendo projects in the past has tried to explain what’s going on.
He wrote on Twitter saying “Nintendo spent 1 whole year doing QA (quality assurance) on Zelda: Tears Of The Kingdom because of its advanced physics”. Nintendo’s blockbuster is “nowhere even close to the level and scope of GTA 6”.
Corroborating this is gaming insider Tom Henderson. On his weekly podcast, “Insider Gaming Weekly“, the host said the game has been “content ready for a very long time”. Also, he does not think the game will be delayed again.
What Does It Mean?
For those unaware, when a game is “content complete” it means new content won’t be added unless there is a drastic change in decision making. The story, mechanics etc are all done and all that’s left is to make sure it works. New features won’t be implemented as this can introduce more glitches and cause deadlines to be missed.
All of this typically occurs later into the “Alpha” stage of production. The beta stage will follow this where bug fixing and polish takes place. What Rockstar will release to us on November 19th 2026 has been locked in place for quite some time.
An example we can give is from Remedy who are working with Rockstar on the Max Payne 1&2 Remake. That game is taking around 2 years to reach the Alpha stage. The Beta step will take Remedy around 6 months. Remedy note the Beta is all about quality assurance. This is a much smaller project so the timeline is not the same as GTA VI but most games follow similar stages.
What do you think to this delay? Let us know down in the comments section below.
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