Take-Two Interactive on Friday pushed the discharge of “Grand Theft Auto VI” to Might 26, 2026, extending the await essentially the most hotly anticipated title in video-gaming historical past and sending its shares tumbling 8%.
The title, developed by Rockstar Video games, was beforehand slated for a fall 2025 launch.
The franchise is the crown jewel in Take-Two’s portfolio, accounting for a big share of income and participant engagement, and expectations for the upcoming title have been baked into Wall Avenue forecasts for months.
Followers have been ready for the sport for over a decade and analysts anticipate it to be an immediate hit.
The earlier entry, “Grand Theft Auto V,” launched in 2013 and has offered over 200 million copies, making it one of many best-selling video video games ever.
“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,” Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick stated.
Delays have grow to be commonplace in fashionable recreation improvement as studios grapple with rising manufacturing prices and rising stress from gamers to ship polished experiences at launch.
The postponement now pushes “GTA VI” out of Take-Two’s fiscal 2026 launch window and into 2027, which is able to seemingly carry down reserving expectations for the subsequent fiscal yr.
The corporate reiterated its expectations for sequential will increase in internet bookings for fiscal 2026 and 2027.
Traders await extra particulars when Take-Two reviews its fourth-quarter earnings on Might 15.
Regardless of the delay, Take-Two has a number of titles lined up for the subsequent fiscal yr, together with “Borderlands 4” and “Mafia: The Old Country,” that are additionally anticipated to be huge launches.
“Given that Take-Two reiterated expectations of record level net bookings in both FY’26 and FY’27, we think this alleviates some of the potential concerns around sales cannibalization in FY’26,” D.A. Davidson & Co analyst Wyatt Swanson stated.
Rockstar Video games unveiled the primary trailer for “GTA VI” in December 2023, confirming the sport’s return to Vice Metropolis, a fictional tackle Miami, and introducing Lucia, the franchise’s first feminine lead.
The teaser hinted at a modern-day Bonnie-and-Clyde duo and drew greater than 100 million views inside 24 hours.
The response to the delay was combined on social media.
Some customers complained about ready longer whereas others welcomed the extra polish.
The transfer will even impression the broader business as “GTA VI” was anticipated to be a significant catalyst for sector development at a time when US tariffs have pushed up gaming console costs and sparked a pullback in shopper spending.
