GTA 6 May Not Be Coming As Soon As Expected

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Grand Theft Auto VI is arguably the most-anticipated game in development right now, and many are wondering when they’ll be able to get their hands on it. Officially, Take-Two and Rockstar Games have confirmed it’s lined up for release in calendar year 2025. Take-Two’s latest earnings briefing may contain some further clues about when during 2025 the game may release.

Previous indications from Take-Two management suggested GTA VI would release during the company’s FY25, which runs April 1, 2024 – March 31, 2025. However, during Take-Two’s earnings call, the company provided a lower revenue guidance for FY25 than before. Given the enormous revenue potential for GTA VI, this might suggest that GTA VI is now set for release in FY26 (April 1, 2025-March 31, 2026). This means it would release no sooner than April 1, 2025.

As mentioned, the only official date that Take-Two has provided for GTA VI is sometime during calendar 2025. As such, it remains possible the game releases between January and March 2025.

During Take-Two’s latest earnings call, CFO Lainie Goldstein said the company is in the midst of the budgeting process for FY25, and that the figure currently is looking like it will come it at a little north of $7 billion. This is down from a previous forecast of $8 billion. Such a significant reduction points to GTA VI slipping out out of FY25 and into a window between April and December of 2025.

Analyst Michael Pachter of Wedbush Securities said in a memo to investors that the assumption now is that GTA VI has slipped out of FY25 and into FY26.

Rockstar has committed to a 2025 release for GTA VI, but it’s a reasonable assumption to believe Rockstar will delay the game. The majority of Rockstar’s biggest games over the past decade-plus have been delayed beyond their originally announced release windows, including Grand Theft Auto IV, Red Dead Redemption, Grand Theft Auto V, and Red Dead Redemption II. This doesn’t guarantee that Rockstar will delay Grand Theft Auto VI, but it does demonstrate that Take-Two and Rockstar are willing to delay their biggest games presumably in a bid to improve quality.

To that end, Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick said during the company’s earnings briefing that Rockstar is “seeking perfection” with GTA VI and won’t release the game until it’s “optimized creatively.” Zelnick said the developers making GTA VI are motivated to make the game the best it can be in part because of Take-Two’s profit-sharing plans that could result in big bonuses.

“There is inherent tension potentially between getting something to market and creating perfection, but this company errs on the side of perfection,” Zelnick said.

GTA VI is set in Vice City and the surrounding area in the fictional state of Leonida, which is a stand-in for Miami and the surrounding areas in Florida. The game will seemingly focus on two main characters, one of whom is Lucia and the other is rumored to be named Jason. Right now, the game is confirmed for release on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S.

Keep checking back with GameSpot for more on GTA VI as we continue to learn more.