Rockstar Games has just confirmed the news that no one wanted to hear: GTA 6 has been postponed to May 2026. Although this decision is a blow to impatient fans, many were already expecting it. Even the studio’s own employees were skeptical that the game could be released in 2025, in keeping with an established tradition of more than 20 years.
An established tradition at Rockstar Games
Since its earliest titles, Rockstar Games has cultivated a habit that seems to have become its trademark: announcing ambitious release dates and then moving them around. This practice, as frustrating as it may be for gamers, follows a logic worth examining.
GTA III, released in 2001, was the first to undergo a forced postponement after the September 11 attacks. The studio delayed the release for three weeks to make changes to some content, demonstrating both its sensitivity and its perfectionist approach. It was the first sign that Rockstar would not hesitate to put everything on hold if necessary.
GTA: Vice City and GTA: San Andreas, which significantly expanded the GTA universe, were also slightly delayed. Vice City saw its release date pushed back from October 22 to October 29, 2002 to finalize development, while San Andreas was delayed a few days for further quality control testing.
Grand Theft Auto IV: the first significant delay
Four years later, ahead of a console generation change, GTA IV established a pattern that would repeat itself for more than a decade. It was the first game in the franchise to be truly significantly delayed, with a delay of more than six months. The original date of October 16, 2007 had to be pushed back to April 29, 2008, mainly due to technical complications with the PlayStation 3 version.
Rockstar Games repeated itself a year later with Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars. The long-awaited return of the saga to handheld consoles was delayed by three months, much to the disappointment of Nintendo DS users. Although the studio did not explain the reasons for this decision, Take-Two Interactive had indicated that Chinatown Wars would not be the only title to be delayed, but also The Lost and Damned, the first DLC for GTA IV.
When the next GTA was announced, none of the fans believed that Rockstar and Take-Two would keep their word. And they were right: the pattern repeated itself with GTA V, initially announced for spring 2013, but finally launched in September of that year.
Rockstar justified the delay as a decision to refine details and avoid mistakes, an argument that, given the game’s enormous success, seems to have been worth every extra month. The PC version, on the other hand, became a real test of patience, with multiple postponements until its release in April 2015.
Other Rockstar games affected by delays
In addition to the Grand Theft Auto series, several other Rockstar Games titles have suffered significant delays before their release:
- Bully (2006): The “high school GTA” missed its scheduled release date of October 2005, and Rockstar delayed its release by an entire year.
- Red Dead Redemption (2010): Officially announced in February 2009, the first RDR also fell victim to the curse. Rockstar postponed the release for five months, from October 2009 to March 2010. A series of technical problems then led to a further two-month delay.
- L.A. Noire (2011): Although L.A. Noire was not developed by Rockstar, its release did not escape postponement. Team Bondi’s optimism was not up to the game’s technical requirements, and its release slipped from 2008 to 2010 before finally being confirmed in May 2011.
- Max Payne 3 (2012): Remedy’s original saga passed into the hands of Rockstar Games, which decided to continue the story of the fallen ex-cop. Max Payne 3 was scheduled to be released at the end of 2009, but development and management problems hurt the studio, causing the game to be pushed back to 2012.
Red Dead Redemption 2, a case in point
As one of the most complex games in recent years, it was almost certain that Red Dead Redemption 2 would be delayed. Rockstar Games and Take-Two had promised to launch it in the fall of 2017, but the developers needed another year to finalize it. After the release, Dan Houser, one of the co-founders of Rockstar Games, left the company amid controversy over working conditions.
The “curse” of Rockstar Games seems to accompany all its projects, and GTA 6 is the latest to join the list. The most anticipated game has been postponed until May 26, 2026. This practice, although disappointing for fans, is part of the strategy that has allowed Rockstar to maintain its level of excellence. Should we really complain when we see the quality of games being delivered?