Video Games in 2025 - Will GTA 6 Be Delayed? History Tells Us It Likely Will

With 2025 finally here, one big question is on everybody’s mind: is 2025 the year we finally get a GTA 6 release? Outside of the wild fan conspiracies we saw in 2024, it’s been relatively quiet for GTA 6 since its initial reveal in December 2023, with no official announcements from GTA developer Rockstar Games. It’s led to many rumours and rumblings that GTA 6 has already been internally delayed, with a delay announcement rumour to be coming soon.

The biggest and latest rumor of a delay came in September 2024, with the lack of official announcements seemingly making the rumor more valid. It eventually prompted Take-Two Interactive to squash the rumor in its Q2 earnings call in November 2024, which was the most significant amount of information we received since the game’s initial announcement. At least at the time of the earnings call, the publisher confirmed that the game was still to launch in Fall 2025.

At face value, Take-Two’s comments are reassuring, but history has told us that Rockstar Games tends to postpone its games, and it won’t be the first time that Take-Two has had to adjust its financial forecasts due to such a delay.

A History of Delays

Rockstar Games’ last two major title releases, GTA 5 and Red Dead Redemption 2 saw significant delays from their initial announcement to their final release date.

Red Dead Redemption 2, Rockstar Games’ latest major title saw two delays from its announcement trailer to its final release. Announced on October 18, 2016, the game was initially planned to be released in the second half of 2017 but eventually released on October 26, 2018, with Rockstar Games saying that the game needed additional development time for polish.

Grand Theft Auto 5 saw a delay, too. From its planned Spring 2013 launch, the game would eventually launch in September 2013. Although it was a small delay, Rockstar Games asserted that it was needed due to polish. In fact, it’s been a recurring theme for Rockstar Games in the past 15 years, with almost every one of Rockstar Games titles, from GTA 4 to the original Red Dead Redemption, seeing delays. While GTA 6 has yet to meet the same fate, it isn’t difficult to imagine that Rockstar Games will continue its trend, especially in the games industry’s current climate.

Take-Two’s Packed Lineup in 2025

It’s already been widely discussed, but another point to consider is Take-Two’s already-packed lineup for 2025, even without a GTA 6 release. Borderlands 4, Civilization 7, Mafia: The Old Country, and annual releases like NBA 2K and WWE 2K make 2025 arguably one of Take-Two’s most stacked years of all time, and that’s without what will be the biggest game release in the past decade.

So why is having its most stacked game release lineup ever an issue for Take-Two? Well, unfortunately, it boils down to revenue and investor expectations year-over-year. Investors expect continuous growth, and piling so many big releases into one year could be an eyebrow-raising decision for investors, especially if Take-Two’s 2026 lineup is on the weaker side of big game releases. Of course, we all know that Take-Two’s money-maker will be GTA Online for GTA 6, but if that will come on launch or not is currently unclear.

But from a purely financial point of view, would Borderlands 4 and Mafia: The Old Country sell millions more copies if GTA 6 is delayed into 2026? It’s a question that investors will likely be pondering. While a GTA 6 delay will undoubtedly cause Take-Two’s share price to fall by a few percent, Take-Two’s financial year will still be strong, and with the prospect of GTA 6 having a cemented release date, its share price will continue to rise.

Although I think that Take-Two will ultimately let Rockstar decide if more polish is needed, it’s certainly a point to be raised that this is, at its core, a business, and GTA 6 is going to make the company billions over the years to come. An additional six-month delay isn’t the end of the world for Take-Two, and if the extra polish is needed, well, I don’t mind waiting a bit longer, either.

Do you think GTA 6 will be delayed into 2026? Tell us in the comments and join the discussion on our forum!

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