Grand Theft Auto 6 received another delay on Thursday, according to a post from publisher Rockstar Games. The highly anticipated open-world game will now launch Nov. 19, 2026. 

In the post, Rockstar Games apologized for the wait and said the game needs more time for polishing. 

«These extra months will allow us to finish the game with the level of polish you have come to expect and deserve,» the company said. «While the wait is a little longer, we are incredibly excited for players to experience the sprawling state of Leonida and a return to modern-day Vice City.»

GTA 6’s previous release date was May 26, 2026, after getting bumped from a 2025 release earlier this year. The game has reportedly been in development since 2018, following the release of Red Dead Redemption 2 that year. 

Why is GTA 6 taking so long to develop?

Gamers have been waiting patiently for a new GTA game since GTA 5 came out in 2013. The development team for the game, Rockstar North, has yet to provide much information on the development process. 

One issue that surfaced last month was the firing of dozens of employees at the studio. Between 30 to 40 staff members were laid off abruptly, as reported by Bloomberg. The terminated employees were reportedly attempting to organize a union within the company, according to a representative of a trade union. Rockstar told Bloomberg on Wednesday that the employees were fired for allegedly discussing confidential information on a public forum. 

On Thursday, fired employees protested outside the offices of Rockstar North and its parent company, Take-Two Interactive. The protesters say that Rockstar is conducting union-busting tactics against those attempting to organize a union within the company. 

It is unclear if the layoffs are responsible for the delay. The news of the GTA 6 release date came shortly before Take-Two Interactive announced its quarterly earnings report. 

What is new in GTA 6?

After the announcement of a 2026 release, Rockstar released a sizeable amount of content about GTA 6, which included a new trailer. 

In this entry, players will take on the roles of the two leads of the game, Jason Duval and Lucia Caminos. The couple will be playable throughout the game, with Lucia being the first female protagonist for a GTA game. 

While the game’s focus is Vice City, a parody of Miami, GTA 6 takes place in the state of Leonida, the game’s version of Florida. Players will explore different parts of the state based on notable Florida locales such as Key West, the Everglades, and other cities. As in previous games, characters will assign the protagonists missions to complete, which typically involve committing major crimes. 

Aside from those details released back in May, Rockstar is still keeping quiet about the rest of the game, including its cost. 

There’s been speculation that GTA 6 could be the first game to be priced at $100. The standard price of a new AAA game is $70, but Nintendo hiked up the price of a new game to $80 with the release of Mario Kart World for the Switch 2. Other companies attempted to copy that strategy, such as Obsidian Entertainment’s The Outer Worlds 2 and Gearbox Software’s Borderlands 4, but both companies ultimately backed off the idea and reverted prices to $70. 

GTA 6 is expected to be released for the PC, PS5 and Xbox Series X and S consoles.