SixCodex

Timeline

GTA 6: The Full Development Timeline

Four years from “it exists” to a release date that held. Here is every confirmed milestone in order, including the ones Rockstar would rather not have been part of the story.

Last checked: September 11, 2026 Status: Pre-release
  • February 2022 Rockstar confirms the game exists

    After years of silence, Rockstar acknowledged that active development on the next Grand Theft Auto was under way. No title, no setting, no window. Rockstar has never stated when development actually began, and the various start years quoted online — 2013, 2018 — are reporting and former-employee claims rather than company statements.

  • 18–19 September 2022 The breach

    Around 90 clips of early development footage were stolen from Rockstar's internal systems and posted publicly. Rockstar confirmed the intrusion the following day and said it did not anticipate disruption to long-term development. Full account here.

  • 4 December 2023 Announcement and Trailer 1

    Scheduled for 5 December and brought forward by roughly sixteen hours after the trailer leaked early. The announcement confirmed the title, the state of Leonida, Vice City, both protagonists, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S, and a 2025 window. The trailer went on to set three Guinness World Records, including 90,421,491 YouTube views in 24 hours.

  • May 2024 Window narrowed to Fall 2025

    Take-Two tightened the release window in its investor communications.

  • 2 May 2025 First delay — to 26 May 2026

    Rockstar: “We need this extra time to deliver at the level of quality you expect and deserve.”

  • 6 May 2025 Trailer 2

    Two minutes forty-four, in-engine on PlayStation 5, and the reveal of six named supporting characters. Rockstar reported more than 475 million views across platforms in 24 hours.

  • October 2025 Dismissals in the UK and Canada

    Rockstar dismissed a group of employees; reporting put the number between 30 and 34. The company and the IWGB Game Workers Union give contradictory accounts of why, and the matter has been before an employment tribunal since. The dispute is set out here.

  • 6 November 2025 Second delay — to 19 November 2026

    Rockstar: “These extra months will allow us to finish the game with the level of polish you have come to expect and deserve.”

  • 25 June 2026 Pre-orders open

    $79.99 standard, $99.99 ultimate, with the Vintage Vice City Pack for every pre-order and a confirmed upgrade path between editions. Details here.

  • 19–20 August 2026 Second leak, and the legal response

    Unauthorised footage circulated shortly before Rockstar's own gameplay presentation. Take-Two filed DMCA subpoenas against Discord, Microsoft, X Corp and Google. The campaign also produced two notable misfires. Covered here.

  • 27 August 2026 An Extended Look

    Twenty-six minutes of gameplay, in-engine on PlayStation 5, premiering on Netflix before reaching Rockstar's own channel. The six-star wanted system, the Criminal Profile, the new phone apps, and the first official word on scale. Breakdown here.

  • 7 August 2026 Date reaffirmed

    Take-Two confirmed on its earnings call that 19 November stands, described pre-orders as unprecedented without giving a figure, and guided to $8.0–8.2 billion in net bookings for the year.

  • 19 November 2026 Launch

    PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S. Digital pre-loading opens 12 November.

What the timeline tells you

Two things worth drawing out.

Rockstar delays rather than ships. Twice, roughly six months ahead each time, with the same stated reason. That is a consistent pattern, and it is the strongest argument both for taking the current date seriously and for not treating it as certain.

The marketing has been unusually sparse. Two trailers and one gameplay presentation in nearly three years, for what is likely to be the largest entertainment launch of the decade. Rockstar has never needed to advertise heavily, but ten weeks out there is still no launch trailer, no technical specification and no review plan.

What is still missing from the record

  • No word

    When development actually started. Rockstar has never said.

    No Rockstar statement
  • No word

    The size of the team, or which Rockstar studios are involved beyond Rockstar North.

    No Rockstar statement
  • No word

    The budget. Every figure circulating is an estimate by analysts or journalists.

    No Take-Two disclosure
  • No word

    Whether the 2022 breach affected the schedule. Rockstar said at the time it did not expect it to.

    No follow-up statement

Related

Sources

  1. Rockstar Games Announces Grand Theft Auto VI — Take-Two, 4 December 2023.
  2. Launch date announcement — Rockstar Newswire, 6 November 2025.
  3. Rockstar confirms the 2022 footage leak — TechCrunch, September 2022.

Every factual claim above is labelled as confirmed or unconfirmed and traced to the source listed here. Where Rockstar has said nothing, this page says so rather than filling the gap.