Take-Two CEO Comments On GTA 6 Delay As New Report Claims Rockstar Never Believed In Fall 2025 Release

Take-Two CEO Comments On GTA 6 Delay As New Report Claims Rockstar Never Believed In Fall 2025 Release

Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick expressed his support for Rockstar as the studio announced its decision to delay Grand Theft Auto 6 until 2026. A new report claims the delay was to avoid crunch time.

By MattIsForReal - May 02, 2025 02:05 PM EST
Filed Under: Grand Theft Auto

Following Rockstar's announcement that Grand Theft Auto 6 has been delayed, parent company Take-Two issued a new press release addressing the potential impact it may have on the company's earnings report.

Despite the delay, Take-Two "reiterated its expectations that the Company will achieve sequential increases in, and record levels of, Net Bookings in Fiscal 2026 and 2027."

The press release also contained a statement from Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick who expressed support for Rockstar's decision to push back the blockbuster title.

“We support fully Rockstar Games taking additional time to realize their creative vision for Grand Theft Auto VI, which promises to be a groundbreaking, blockbuster entertainment experience that exceeds audience expectations. While we take the movement of our titles seriously and appreciate the vast and deep global anticipation for Grand Theft Auto VI, we remain steadfast in our commitment to excellence. As we continue to release our phenomenal pipeline, we expect to deliver a multi-year period of growth in our business and enhanced value for our shareholders.”

Grand Theft Auto 6 was slated to release this Fall 2025, but will now release on May 26, 2026. In the meantime, Take-Two will likely rely on the continued success of Grand Theft Auto Online as well as Gearbox Software's upcoming shooter Borderlands 4, which will release on September 12, 2025.

Rockstar's decision to delay GTA 6 came as a bit of a surprise to many, Bloomberg reporter Jason Schreier claims in a new post that nobody at the studio believed that the game would be ready for a Fall 2025 launch. According to Schreier, the decision to push GTA 6 back a couple of months was made by management to avoid "brutal crunch."

"Nobody I’ve talked to at Rockstar has believed Fall 2025 was a real window for a very long time now," Schreier wrote on Blue Sky. "Too much work, not enough time, and what appears to be a real desire from management to avoid brutal crunch. GTA VI slipping to 2026 has seemed inevitable for months if not longer."

Schreier pointed to previous Bloomberg reports in which he wrote, "the pressure to make it great is inordinate and developer Rockstar Games has vowed to avoid forcing excessive overtime during the final months of development. I expect that it will slip to 2026."

Nobody I’ve talked to at Rockstar has believed Fall 2025 was a real window for a very long time now. Too much work, not enough time, and what appears to be a real desire from management to avoid brutal crunch. GTA VI slipping to 2026 has seemed inevitable for months if not longer

— Jason Schreier (@jasonschreier.bsky.social) May 2, 2025 at 7:40 AM

Barring any future delays, GTA 6 will now launch on May 26, 2026.

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