Strauss Zelnic, CEO of Take-Two, has revealed during an interview with David Senra that Grand Theft Auto VI is about 18 months behind its original release date, which indicates the publishing giant had hoped to have the game out in Spring 2025.
This is noteworthy as GTA VI was only ever publicly given a Fall 2025 release window and wasn’t ever announced as coming out any earlier than that (a vague 2025 window was given early on, but never anything specific of around a Spring 2025 launch). “I think we’re about 18 months behind the original date. Not much more than that,” said the executive, when discussing how GTA VI is very likely to become one of the biggest launches the games industry has ever seen.
Last week, it was revealed that Sony had started emailing PS4 owners about upgrading to a PS5 to prepare for the release of GTA VI, and earlier that month a report claimed that Take-Two has spent up to $1.5 billion on the upcoming open-world crime opus so far. GTA VI has been delayed twice already: it was originally set for a Fall 2025 release as mentioned, before being pushed to May 2026 and then finally November 19.
Zelnick has previously confirmed that marketing for GTA VI is set to kick off this summer, and denied claims that the title would not receive a physical version at launch in order to avoid leaks. The executive also stated emphatically that generative AI is not being used by Rockstar Games for the development of GTA VI.
GTA VI is scheduled to launch for PS5 and Xbox Series X/S on Nov. 19.
[Source – David Senra Interview With Strauss Zelnick]