GTA 6 Is Still On Track For 2025, And We’re Happy Take-Two Thinks So
There’s still plenty of reason to be a skeptic about this release date.
What’s poised to be the biggest video game launch of all time is still on track to happen this year. At least, according to its publisher Take-Two Interactive.
During Take-Two’s recent earnings call, company CEO Strauss Zelnick told investors that Rockstar Games’ Grand Theft Auto 6 will hit its target release of sometime in the fall of 2025. The anticipated title was specifically called out among other high-profile Take Two releases slated for this year like Mafia: The Old Country and Borderlands 4.
Before the investor call, Zelnick couched his confidence ever so slightly in an interview with IGN.
“Look, there's always a risk of slippage,” he said, taking into account that anything is possible in the final stretch of development. “As soon as you say words like absolutely, you jinx things.”
However, he says that Rockstar and Take-Two “feel really good” about coming out on time.
“We know that Rockstar seeks perfection,” Zelnick continued. “I never claim success before it occurs. I'm fond of saying arrogance is the enemy of continued success, so we're all running scared and looking over our shoulders and we know that the competition is not asleep. Our whole organization is super excited.”
For many in the games industry, Take Two’s confidence will come as a great relief. Analysts have predicted that GTA 6 will have a positive ripple effect on the industry, inspiring folks who haven’t yet purchased current-generation hardware to do so.
Despite Take-Two’s confidence, however, I have my doubts. As someone who’s been around for over two decades of Rockstar Games’ launches, Zelnick’s comments mirror those of the past. There have been few things as consistent as an 11th-hour delay for a Rockstar Game. Every one of its games going all the way back to 2008 has been delayed at least once. These delays have always been announced a financial quarter before release.
Grand Theft Auto 5 is among several Rockstar Games delayed out of its original launch window.
Rockstar has been radio silent since the game’s trailer was released in 2023. And with at least one more financial quarter left before Take Two’s fall slate is solidified, there’s still time for that last-minute audible.
It’s no shade to Rockstar. Delays like these make a ton of sense. Polishing an open world to the degree the developer is known for does take time and effort, especially if they want to avoid the buggy launches that have plagued so many big-budget titles of the last decade. More than any other developer, Rockstar can’t afford to drop the ball when it comes to a title 12 years in the making.
It’s not to say that GTA 6 can't hit its fall release date. I’d love to be proven wrong. But for the sake of tempering expectations, players should probably be cautious about this week’s announcement.
Grand Theft Auto 6 will bring players to a new, larger version of Vice City this time located in the fictional American state of Leonida. Based on the only trailer released so far, it’s expected that the game will feature dual protagonists, a couple, a heavy focus on social media’s cultural impact, and lampooning the state of Florida.
