Why Was GTA 6 Delayed? What Rockstar Told Bloomberg

Why was GTA 6 delayed twice?

Rockstar kept betting on an aggressive schedule, and twice the schedule lost. Rob Nelson told Bloomberg the team feels “a huge pressure and obligation to deliver the highest-quality game” fast. As launch nears, it checks whether the date still holds. When it didn’t, the developers asked for more time.

The first target was 2025, promised when Trailer 1 landed in December 2023. In May 2025, Rockstar moved the game to May 26, 2026. A few months later, it slipped again, to November 19, 2026.

Rockstar’s second delay announcement on the Newswire said the extra months were about polish. Bloomberg’s report, as relayed by Kotaku, adds the inside view: the developers made the call, and Rockstar’s publishing team carried the request to Take-Two.

The full timeline, from Trailer 1 to pre-orders, lives in our GTA 6 release date guide.

How did Take-Two’s CEO react to the delay?

Not well, at first. Jennifer Kolbe, Rockstar’s head of publishing, made both calls to Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick. The first delay went through. For the second, she recalls him saying “You’re kidding” and “Please tell me you’re kidding” on the phone. Once the team explained why, “he got it,” she told Bloomberg.

Kolbe also called Rockstar lucky that Zelnick is as reasonable as he is, Kotaku reports. Plenty of bosses, she suggested, would just tell the team to figure out how to ship it.

Zelnick says extra development time is usually a wise investment, Kotaku notes. Both delays were announced in 2025, so that view got a real workout.

How long has GTA 6 been in development?

Since 2015, at least on paper. GameSpot, citing Bloomberg, reports that a small Rockstar team traveled to Miami that year to start planning, under the codename Project Americas. Then Red Dead Redemption 2 took priority, and Bloomberg says GTA 6 slipped by several years as a result.

The original plan was to build both games side by side. As Red Dead Redemption 2 kept growing, Rob Nelson moved more staff onto it so it could ship in 2018.

Rockstar now works differently. Nelson told Bloomberg that its studios used to juggle several games at once. Now the whole network works on one project at a time, GameSpot reports.

For one design decision from that long road, see our GTA 6 weapon wheel report.

Was GTA 6 supposed to include South America?

At the start, yes. Under Project Americas, Rockstar pictured big swaths of North and South America, GameSpot reports from Bloomberg. The team later cut the scope down to Miami and its surroundings. Rockstar’s fictional version of that region is Vice City and the state of Leonida.

No map of the bigger version has been published. Any “GTA 6 South America” claim beyond this one line is fan theory.

How much did GTA 6 cost to make?

Rockstar won’t say how much. Jennifer Kolbe, its head of publishing, shot down the popular $1.5 billion figure without offering a real number, GamesRadar+ reports. Bloomberg’s Jason Schreier still writes that GTA 6 is almost certainly the most expensive game ever made, according to GameDaily.

The $1.5 billion figure never came from Rockstar. GamesRadar+ traces it to an estimate by analyst Michael Pachter that stuck online.

The payroll grew too. Bloomberg counts 2,441 Rockstar employees when Red Dead Redemption 2 shipped in 2018, and 4,711 in August 2026, across 12 offices, GameDaily reports.

Did Rockstar crunch to finish GTA 6?

Less than on Red Dead Redemption 2, Rockstar says, but not zero. After that game, Rockstar’s leads agreed not to repeat it. “We’re not going to finish this game by crunching,” Kolbe told Bloomberg. Rockstar added paid time off to offset extra hours, and sometimes extra pay, GamesRadar+ reports.

Kolbe admits it hasn’t been perfect, only “certainly better than Red Dead 2 was,” in her words. She also expects some employees to say they did crunch, and she doesn’t want to argue with them.

Her verdict, per GamesRadar+: Rockstar did things differently this time, and she is proud of that.

When is GTA 6 Online coming out?

Not at launch, if Bloomberg is right. Jason Schreier reports that the online component is expected in 2027, Beebom notes. Rockstar has not announced GTA 6 Online, a date or a player count. Until it does, 2027 is a well-sourced report, not a promise.

Rockstar’s developers aren’t talking about the online component yet, Beebom reports from Schreier’s piece. They are focused on marketing GTA 6 first. For now, November 19 is about Jason and Lucia’s story.

Will Rockstar’s next game take this long?

Rockstar says no. The engine, tools and team built for GTA 6 “will allow us to do things more quickly,” Phil Hooker told Bloomberg. Aaron Garbut said the studio rebuilt a lot on this project and won’t “rip it apart” now. No next game has been announced.

Bloomberg points to history, Kotaku notes. In the early 2000s, Grand Theft Auto: Vice City arrived about a year after GTA III because it was built on that game’s foundations.

Hooker wants to “go more sideways than upwards” from here. Translation: more content on this base, not another rebuild from scratch.

Until then, November 19, 2026 is the only date that matters. PC players are still waiting: our GTA 6 PC version guide tracks every hint. Choosing what to pre-order? Our Standard vs Ultimate Edition guide breaks it down.

Frequently asked questions

Why was GTA 6 delayed?

Rockstar said the extra time was about quality and polish. Rob Nelson told Bloomberg the team keeps checking whether an aggressive schedule is still achievable as launch nears. Twice it wasn’t, so Rockstar asked Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick for more time.

How long did GTA 6 take to make?

Planning started in 2015, when a small team visited Miami under the codename Project Americas, GameSpot reports from Bloomberg. Red Dead Redemption 2 then took priority until 2018, which pushed GTA 6 back by several years. The game launches November 19, 2026.

How much did GTA 6 cost to make?

Rockstar won’t say. Head of publishing Jennifer Kolbe shot down the rumored $1.5 billion figure without giving a number, GamesRadar+ reports. Bloomberg’s Jason Schreier still writes that it is almost certainly the most expensive game ever made, according to GameDaily.

Is GTA 6 Online coming out in 2027?

That’s what Bloomberg reports. Jason Schreier writes that the online component is expected in 2027, Beebom notes. Rockstar has not announced GTA 6 Online or any date for it.

Is GTA 6 still coming out on November 19, 2026?

Yes. Rockstar’s official date is still Thursday, November 19, 2026, on PS5 and Xbox Series X|S. The date has not moved since November 2025. A PC version has not been announced.