GTA 6 is delayed again, this time from May to November 2026. Perhaps we should have seen it coming. After all, aren’t all Rockstar games delayed multiple times before they eventually come out and break sales records?
We’ve got plenty of coverage on the delay already, including comments from Take-Two boss Strauss Zelnick, who told IGN in an interview he was “highly confident” in the new release date (I’m sure he’s said that before?). And, if you need a reminder, here’s a whopping 89 details from GTA 6 Trailer 2.
But how has the internet reacted to the GTA 6 delay? Fans are, as you’d expect, in tatters. And spare a thought for PC gamers, who now face the prospect of having to wait to play GTA 6 in 2027 at the earliest. But video game publishers — some, publicly at least — are having fun with it, while some are expressing concern for any game that might have earmarked a fall 2026 release window. And then there are the memes. Lots of memes.
Let’s start with Cyberpunk 2077 developer CD Projekt, which took the opportunity to remind everyone that it once promised no more delays to Cyberpunk 2077, and look how that turned out when its sci-fi action RPG came out in December 2020. What CDPR is saying here is trust in Rockstar to deliver — it’s better to delay the game and ensure it’s great than launch it when it isn’t ready.
https://t.co/SqC2ZYRK6s https://t.co/l5o58PULml
— Cyberpunk 2077 (@CyberpunkGame) November 6, 2025
Hotline Miami and Cult of the Lamb publisher Devolver Digital, meanwhile, continued the bit by continuing to promise (threat?) to release a game on the same day GTA 6 comes out. Now it’s moved whatever game it had in mind to GTA 6’s new release date: November 19, 2026. Devolver won’t — can’t at this point — stop. It even cheekily asked Rockstar if it needed help getting GTA 6 out the door, tweeting: “DO YOU NEED A PUBLISHER TO GET THIS THING BACK ON TRACK? DMs are open. Our work on @BALLxPIT speaks for itself.” Those scamps!
You can’t escape us.
November 19, 2026 it is then. https://t.co/EMLwGWb1yY
— Devolver Digital (@devolverdigital) November 6, 2025
Speaking more seriously, Christofer Sundberg, founder of Liquid Swords and former boss of Just Cause developer Avalanche, called the delay “a gravitational shift.” He continued: “When giants move, the ground shakes. That’s not competition. That’s opportunity.”
This is a comment about how publishers will be left scrambling to adjust their own release dates in the wake of GTA 6 moving from May to November. Some may be able to hit May or thereabouts now GTA 6 has moved out of that window. Others already locked into fall 2026 may now be set for crisis talks. Will next year’s Call of Duty be okay, for example? COD usually launches in November, so we’re potentially set for a GTA 6 vs Call of Duty showdown in 2026. I know what my money’s on.
But the delay may even impact games set to launch in 2027. John “Bucky” Buckley, Communications Director and Publishing Manager at Palworld developer Pocketpair, took to X / Twitter to say “expect to see many games (especially AAA ones) swerve to avoid the 2027 awards season,” now GTA 6 is set for a November 19 launch, which puts Rockstar’s game outside the nominaton window for most game awards in 2026. “Intentional or…?🤔” Bucky wondered.
Microsoft might be the publisher most heavily impacted by this GTA 6 delay.
Halo Remake, Gears E-Day, Fable, AND Call of Duty 2026 are all almost certainly scheduled for next Fall. Maaaaaybe Forza Horizon 6 too? Better ship ’em well before Nov. 19 now! https://t.co/UWp6h1aMO1
— Ryan McCaffrey (@DMC_Ryan) November 6, 2025
every other publisher right now https://t.co/MZcSrpEVxM pic.twitter.com/uYSNVQiGzG
— Sean Murray (@NoMansSky) November 7, 2025
Looks like Batman needs to delay his trip to Miami. #LEGOBatmanGame pic.twitter.com/EAGQYXhgff
— LEGO® Batman™: Legacy of the Dark Knight (@LEGODCGame) November 6, 2025
And then there are the memes. So many memes! Too many, of course, to fit into a single article, but I would like to highlight a BBC Sport Live Report journalist who, while covering last night’s round of soccer matches, dropped in the news of the GTA 6 delay.
The BBC Sport Live commentator can’t believe they’ve delayed GTA 6😂😂😂 pic.twitter.com/vMfwlglUcl
— The 44 ⚽️ (@The_Forty_Four) November 6, 2025
Even Guinness World Records took a shot.
Current record for the longest development period for a videogame? 14 years and 43 days.
Officially announced on 28 April 1997 by developer 3D Realms, the FPS ‘Duke Nukem Forever’ was finally released on 10 June 2011. https://t.co/8XBZGM3i98
— Guinness World Records (@GWR) November 6, 2025
There are now 376 days until GTA 6 comes out, with fans having to wait another half a year for what is expected to be the biggest entertainment launch of all time. What to do in the meantime? Play other games! And there are many to choose from. Hell, even GTA 5 is returning to PS Plus.
If you’re planning on revisiting GTA 5 while waiting for GTA 6, we’ve got plenty of guides for both beginners and seasoned players over on our Grand Theft Auto 5 wiki. You’ll find everything from GTA 5 Cheat Codes and Secrets and How to Make Money, to a full Beginner’s Guide and detailed Walkthrough for every story mission and Strangers and Freaks side mission.
Wesley is Director, News at IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at [email protected] or confidentially at [email protected].
