Grand Theft Auto 6's release date has been the topic of much speculation ever since it was officially announced in 2023. Fans were eager for literally any morsel of information regarding when they could expect to get their hands on this hugely anticipated game until Rockstar confirmed that it would be coming out in 2025. Many were overjoyed that they would be able to play it sooner than they perhaps anticipated, while others were extremely doubtful that it would release in 2025, just two years after being announced by Rockstar.

After numerous Grand Theft Auto 6 rumors pointed to potential delays, fans began to lower their expectations. Delays aren't that uncommon, but the lack of GTA 6 marketing has many eager for more information or even just a brief gameplay clip. Unfortunately, it turns out that GTA 6 is being delayed by quite a substantial margin, but worse still, it is officially breaking a tradition that the series and Rockstar have mostly stuck to since its inception.

GTA 6 Is Releasing In May 2026

It Has Been Delayed

In an unsurprising move, GTA 6 has been delayed until May 26, 2026. Beyond the rather delightful symmetry of the release date, this will definitely come as a blow to fans who have been waiting patiently for Rockstar to give them anything other than bad news. The general air of silence surrounding GTA 6 has been disappointing, to say the least, although at least Rockstar has a good reason for the delay, something that will be at least a little reassuring for those of us who have been dreaming of the game's release date long before it was even announced.

In a statement posted to the Rockstar devs predicting the delay. There are also benefits of it being delayed out of 2025, a year that has become rather busy with genuinely great games that may have struggled to find an audience with GTA 6 looming on the horizon.

However, what many may have missed is the date that Rockstar has pushed GTA 6 to. From a purely financial perspective, choosing May is a little complicated as it is often quite a busy period for video games. However, GTA 6 is releasing toward the end of May and into the summer period, which is typically quiet when it comes to major releases. More importantly, the previous release date had a significance that the new one lacks, as it completely breaks a tradition Rockstar has largely stuck to for 28 years.

GTA 6 Is Breaking Rockstar's Tradition Of Releasing GTA Games In The Fall

Almost Every Game Released Between September & November

Grand Theft Auto 6 switching its release month to May rather than Fall 2025 breaks Rockstar's tradition of releasing GTA games within the Fall period. Almost every mainline GTA game and a handful of the spin-offs have launched between September and November of their respective years. That was the case with the original Grand Theft Auto game, and it was with GTA 5 when it launched nearly 12 years ago in September 2013. It is hard to believe it's been so long since GTA was released, but then we've also been waiting a long while since the GTA 6 trailer.

Of course, no one other than Rockstar was holding it to this tradition, but it did prove to be a relatively reliable indication of when it would release its games, or, at the very least, specifically the Grand Theft Auto games. It meant that even if Rockstar held back trailers, practically reduced its marketing budget to $0, and made us all wait twiddling our thumbs, we could at least speculate with a strong sense of confidence that it would come out in the Fall. Unfortunately, that isn't really the case anymore.

GTA 6 releasing in May 2026 isn't the end of the world. Frankly, now is the best time to break this tradition, as it means that players get their hands on GTA 6 sooner rather than later. Had it been delayed until Fall 2026, fans would likely have lost their minds as the wait would be far too long. Indeed, had it launched in September 2026, there would have been 13 years between it and GTA 5. Of course, it is still interesting to compare release dates for each entry to get an insight into the trajectory of the series.

When Every Other Mainline GTA Game Released (Compared To GTA 6)

Most Released In October

The very first Grand Theft Auto game was launched in November 1997, nearly 28 years ago. Since then, we've had seven mainline entries, although not all of them are numbered, as well as a number of spin-offs, including the incredible GTA: Chinatown Wars for the Nintendo DS. As aforementioned, almost every entry has been released between September and November, although a few, like GTA 6, have been released outside that period. Below is a table of when each of the mainline GTA games were released:

The obvious outlier to the Rockstar tradition is Grand Theft Auto IV, which was released in April 2008. However, that too was hit by delays, as the game was originally intended to be released in October 2007. It was delayed due to technical issues with the PS3 as well as storage issues with the Xbox 360. During an investor's call at the time, Take-Two's CEO, Strauss Zelnick, explained that the delay was due to "almost strictly technological problems ... not problems, but challenges," as reported by Kotaku (via Critical Hit Gaming).

It is also worth stating that other versions of each of these games were released in other months, such as San Andreas, which was released in June 2005 for PC and Xbox. However, the initial launch for all of these games has traditionally been around October.

So, the original intention was always to get GTA IV out during the traditional September to November release window. Of course, GTA IV went on to be a critical and commercial success, one that is fondly ed to this day, so the delays were evidently worth it. While it is a shame to see Grand Theft Auto 6 miss out on upholding this self-enforced tradition, at least it is doing it for a good reason, one that will ultimately benefit players.

Source: Rockstar, Critical Hit Gaming