The short answer
Grand Theft Auto VI has had four official release targets, and Rockstar has moved the date twice. Trailer 1 promised 2025. Take-Two narrowed that to fall 2025 in May 2024. On May 2, 2025, Rockstar moved the game to May 26, 2026, and on November 6, 2025, it moved it again to Thursday, November 19, 2026. As of September 23, 2026, Rockstar's Grand Theft Auto VI page still reads "Coming November 19, 2026" for PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S, and no further change has been announced.
Every date below comes from a Rockstar Newswire post or a Take-Two press release, and each one links to the page it came from.
Every official date, in order
| Announced |
Who said it |
What changed |
| February 4, 2022 |
Rockstar Newswire |
Development confirmed as "well underway"; no date or window |
| November 8, 2023 |
Rockstar Newswire (Sam Houser) |
First trailer promised for "early December"; no release window |
| December 1, 2023 |
Rockstar Newswire |
Trailer 1 scheduled for Tuesday, December 5, 9 AM ET |
| December 4, 2023 |
Rockstar on X, YouTube |
Trailer 1 released early; release window: 2025 |
| May 16, 2024 |
Take-Two results |
Window narrowed to fall of calendar 2025 |
| February 6, 2025 |
Take-Two results |
Fall 2025 repeated |
| May 2, 2025 |
Rockstar Newswire and Take-Two |
First delay: May 26, 2026 |
| November 6, 2025 |
Rockstar Newswire and Take-Two |
Second delay: November 19, 2026 |
| May 21, 2026 |
Take-Two results |
November 19 repeated as the launch that drives fiscal 2027 |
| June 24, 2026 |
Take-Two |
Pre-orders from June 25; pre-load from November 12 |
2022 to 2023: from "well underway" to a year
Rockstar first confirmed the game on February 4, 2022, at the end of a community update that was mostly about the PS5 and Xbox Series versions of GTA V. The paragraph said "active development for the next entry in the Grand Theft Auto series is well underway." It gave no name, no platform and no year.
The next official step came 21 months later. On November 8, 2023, a message signed by Sam Houser marked Rockstar's 25th anniversary and promised the first trailer "in early December." On December 1, Rockstar set the time: Tuesday, December 5, 9 AM ET.
The trailer did not wait for that slot. On the evening of December 4, 2023, after a copy spread online, Rockstar posted on X: "Our trailer has leaked so please watch the real thing on YouTube." Kotaku's report timestamps that post at 6:10 PM ET, which was 00:10 on December 5 in Central Europe. Rockstar's Newswire post for the trailer is dated December 5 and gave the first window: "Coming 2025 to PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S."
May 2024: Take-Two narrows it to fall 2025
Rockstar did not publish the narrower window itself. Its parent company did, in the fiscal 2024 results on May 16, 2024: "Our outlook reflects a narrowing of Rockstar Games' previously established window of Calendar 2025 to Fall of Calendar 2025." The fiscal third-quarter release of February 6, 2025 still listed the game for "Fall of calendar 2025." That was the last official statement of the original window.
May 2, 2025: the first delay
Less than three months later, Rockstar announced that the game was "now set to release on May 26, 2026." The post apologised that this was "later than you expected" and said the team needed "this extra time to deliver at the level of quality you expect and deserve." It gave no other reason.
Take-Two published a statement the same day. It placed May 26, 2026 inside its fiscal year 2027, and Strauss Zelnick said the company supported "Rockstar Games taking additional time to realize their creative vision." Four days after the delay, on May 6, 2025, Rockstar released Trailer 2.
November 6, 2025: the second delay
Six months later came the second move: "Grand Theft Auto VI will now release on Thursday, November 19, 2026." Rockstar apologised "for adding additional time to what we realize has been a long wait" and said the extra months would let it finish the game "with the level of polish you have come to expect and deserve."
Take-Two's fiscal second-quarter results went out the same day and used the new date in its release table. The shift added 177 days. Both May 26 and November 19 fall in Take-Two's fiscal 2027, which runs from April 2026 to March 2027, so the second delay did not move the game into a different financial year.
2026: the date starts carrying weight
Since November 2025 the date has not moved, and official material has started to build on it. Take-Two's fiscal 2026 results on May 21, 2026 said fiscal 2027 would be "driven by the November 19th launch." On June 24, Take-Two announced pre-orders from June 25 at midnight local time and digital pre-loading from November 12, 2026. Rockstar's own posts since then, including the August 27 Extended Look, have repeated November 19.
What Rockstar has never said
- Why, in detail. Both delay posts cite polish and quality. Neither names a feature, a platform or a team problem. Reports that claim a specific cause are not Rockstar's.
- A date for PC. Every official date so far, from "2025" to November 19, 2026, has been for PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S only. Our PC status page tracks that separately.
- Whether November 19 is final. No official statement calls it locked, and none suggests another move. The honest status is: current date, unchanged since November 6, 2025.
Rockstar has moved big releases before and announced each move on Newswire. GTA V moved "about four months later than originally planned" to September 17, 2013. Red Dead Redemption 2 moved to spring 2018 and then to October 26, 2018. That history shows how Rockstar communicates a change. It does not predict one.
How to check the date yourself
If a new date appears anywhere, look for it in two places first: a Rockstar Newswire post titled like the two above, and the "Coming" line on Rockstar's own game page. For the exact unlock time in your time zone, read our launch day and countdown page. For the trailers and the Extended Look in order, see the official showcases timeline, and if a future delay changes your plans, the cancellation and refunds guide covers each store's rules.
