Why Grand Theft Auto VI Being Delayed Again is a Good Thing
Spenser Clark
It’s no secret that video games have grown larger over time and typically can take years or even upwards of a decade when talking about AAA titles to properly run through all the steps of being developed from storyboarding, music, scenery, character models, physics engine, and so much more. The problem with these long development cycles is that to build hype, developers will usually launch trailers previewing their new games several months or even years before launch which at least puts it out there and into the conversation but can come at a cost when it enters unexpected delays and leads to disappointment from many excited fans.
Grand Theft Auto VI (GTA 6) is one of the most anticipated video games of all time and we believe will be in the top 5 most sold games of all time based on the popularity, longevity, and incredible sales that Grand Theft Auto V has managed to accomplish within the last decade. It is a game, despite being ported several times, has shown that it can be a top seller over and over no matter what platform it is released on. People have been clamoring for the release of GTA 6 which was set to release on May 26th, 2026, but as of this week the game’s release date just got pushed back to November 19th, 2026. Just from within our company, there was a collective sigh and wave of frustration from having to wait another 6 months for a game that we had all been waiting to play for years. It’s something we see no matter whether it is GTA 6 with a set release date or something like Elder Scrolls VI that we have been waiting to hear more firm details about. But as we have seen in the past, there can come a cost to releasing a game of this size and scope way too early or haphazardly before it’s meant to hit shelves.
Many of you probably still remember notable large launches for AAA games like No Man’s Sky or Cyberpunk 2077, and the communal outrage and dismay over glitches, empty worlds, or disappointing gameplay. Cyberpunk had a notoriously bad launch that had Sony offering refunds online and physical copies being returned across the country. No Man’s Sky was relatively empty and lacked depth as a game and left many feeling disappointed. Though there is a brighter side to both games as the modern era of patches and ports have redeemed both of these games and resulted in complete turnaround for both. One thing that would’ve benefited both titles would’ve been a delay such as GTA 6’s so they could’ve taken more time to test and fine tune these games. No one is ever expecting perfection, but sometimes a good push back from the original release date (or several) can be a much-needed time to polish and make sure that for the hard-earned money we all spend on these games that they fully honor our expectations by working hard to make what feels like a complete product. These two games are great examples of times when you can earn back goodwill from the gaming community through putting in the work, but I would argue that it’s better to release the product in a better place so you don’t suffer from the years of earning back everyone’s respect and having to suffer from bad PR. Instead, developers can then focus on making more incremental changes that are much smaller in scope, and less invasive to their games or even place their attention on adding additional content or requested features to their beloved games.
We all are very excited to finally play GTA 6 and enjoy the amazing story, characters, and open world aspects that we have all come to expect from Rockstar Games, but my advice at the end of the day is to give them some more time to make sure that they get this right and let them cook. It’ll be completely worth the wait and based on so many other releases from Rockstar like Red Dead Redemption, Bully, or previous Grand Theft Auto entries, it’ll blow our minds and end up being a well-loved favorite!
Source: https://www.rockstargames.com/newswire/article/ak3ak31a49a221/grand-theft-auto-vi-is-now-set-to-launch-november-19-2026
