The GTA 6 release date aims for 2024 and an announcement in 2023 according to credible Rockstar Games insider TezFunz2. For years now fans have been longing for some actual details from Rockstar about the next instalment in the Grand Theft Auto series. Whilst most pieces of information are fake or without any good track record, Tez is the one the GTA community holds in high regard. Of course anything we discuss in this article is not official from Rockstar themselves so this is still a rumour.
The difference is this bit of info is coming from someone more trustworthy than the fake reports out there. Unless the individual or organisation has a good track record we won’t report on it. We will stress this is purely a rumour and speculation at this point though as it is not coming from Rockstar publicly but apparent sources at the company.
So far we’ve only had a statement from Rockstar confirming they’re working on the next instalment in the Grand Theft Auto series. Plus, that report sharing game details ahead of the major leak of 90 gameplay videos but aside from that nothing has been proved to be real. Let’s take a look at what the insider has said including how there might be no more delays.
GTA 6 coming out sooner than we think?
A lot of fans still think the game is a few years away, 2025 or even 2026. However, Tez posted on the GTAForums on Saturday Rockstar’s “aimed-always-changing-not-set-in-stone deadline is holiday 2024“. It’s interesting to note how he claims Rockstar have intended for it to be a 2024 release for sometime. In addition to that, Tez says the delays are not an assumption on his part but rather what he has heard. Plenty will say that holiday 2024 release window seems far too soon and Tez does offer a reasonable explanation as to why it could come later. He says GTA VI has already been delayed internally “multiple times in the past few years” and that “Unfortunately, it could slip into early 2025 as well.”
Tom Henderson of Insider Gaming who has shared reports on GTA VI’s release in the past did discuss Tez’s claims. His sources told him since 2021 “Grand Theft Auto 6 has been aiming for a 2024 release date for some time” but thinks the game would release Holiday 2025 instead.
As for the reasons why it might be delayed, Tez states Rockstar Games are implementing a policy for its developers to return to office for work. Several big companies such as Apple and game studios such as Activision have decided to do this in the past few months. This change has caused upset with a large number of employees at these companies. Some have even decided to leave their position and find a role elsewhere at a company who’ll offer a work from home scheme. It is possible some developers could leave Rockstar if they are unhappy with this change. Any sort of exodus may end up causing strain on delivering milestones for GTA 6 and could end up delaying the game entirely.
On the flip side Tez notes that Rockstar could be “more firm about an announcement this year” if “almost the entirety of the workforce in office”. In terms of the official announcement of the game, Tez states he can “personally see an announcement as a given this year”.
No more delays?
Another interesting piece from Tez is how he believes management are not “in a position to delay further to holiday 2025/2026“. We don’t know exactly why Tez thinks this might be the case but it could be due to Take Two Interactive’s nosedive in share price due to weaker financial performance in the last year or so. The share price fell around 40% in 2022.
Despite GTA V, GTA Online and Red Dead Redemption 2 consistently raking in cash for Rockstar and its parent company, it is not sustainable to rely on a game that is soon to be 10 years old. Take Two announced “cost cutting measures” aka layoffs in February following another quarter of disappointment. They are likely looking at GTA 6 as their saviour as GTA V and GTA Online has been for the last decade alongside NBA 2K.
Instead of releasing GTA 6 in 2024 with unfinished content, Tez explains that “Cutting more portions of the game to package into DLCs to release later on may be sustainable for management than delaying further.” Whilst this is not what fans will want to hear, it seems like it might be the play as long as the game is good and already full of great content. Rockstar have learned over the last decade how to create somewhat regular and free content updates to GTA Online. An improved version of that would introduce a new level of live service.
Stay tuned to RockstarINTEL for all news updates on GTA 6, GTA Online and more.
It will release two years after it is officially announced, which has not happened yet. Unless they start cutting a lot of content it will be late 2025.