The date is set

The most anticipated game of the decade finally has a firm target. Grand Theft Auto VI is set to launch November 19, 2026, on PS5 and Xbox Series X/S. It has been a long and twisting road to this date, and Rockstar appears determined to hold the line this time.

The November window is the product of a second delay. GTA 6 was originally eyed for 2025, then moved to May 26, 2026, before landing on November 19, a shift announced on November 6, 2025, via Take-Two's quarterly earnings report.

Rockstar's reasoning

The studio framed the delay around polish, issuing a now-familiar statement:

Rockstar apologized for adding time to what it acknowledged has been a long wait.
It said the extra months would allow it to finish the game with the level of polish players expect and deserve.
Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick has repeatedly reiterated the November 19 date through mid-2026, saying the company feels really good about it.

Rockstar first revealed GTA 6 back in December 2023, so by the time it launches, fans will have waited nearly three years from the first trailer.

Why confidence is growing

Two delays might normally breed skepticism, but the repeated, on-the-record reaffirmations from Take-Two's leadership have had the opposite effect. When a CEO keeps volunteering the same date across multiple public appearances, it signals internal confidence that the window is real rather than aspirational.

The stakes could hardly be higher. GTA 6 is expected to be one of the best-selling entertainment products of all time, and a launch of this magnitude leaves little room for error. Rockstar's history of prioritizing polish over speed, seen with Red Dead Redemption 2, suggests the extra months are being spent making sure the game meets sky-high expectations.

For players, the practical takeaway is to circle November 19 and treat it as the genuine finish line. The set-in-fictional-Leonida crime saga, centered on a modern-day Vice City and starring the duo of Jason and Lucia, is nearly here. After years of leaks, speculation, and two delays, the wait is finally measured in months rather than years, and Rockstar seems intent on making the third date the one that sticks.