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Grand Theft Auto VI Delayed to May 2026: Which Games Will Fill the Void This Year?

Rockstar Games needs another six months to polish one of the most anticipated titles in recent memory, though it promises to release new details about the game soon.

 & Michael Kan Principal Reporter

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Sorry, GTA fans: Rockstar Games has delayed the release of Grand Theft Auto VI from this year to May 2026. "We are very sorry that this is later than you expected," the company said today.

Indeed, the wait has been long. (GTA V came out in 2013!) But Rockstar says the holdup will be worth it. “With every game we have released, the goal has always been to try and exceed your expectations, and Grand Theft Auto VI is no exception,” it says. “We hope you understand that we need this extra time to deliver at the level of quality you expect and deserve.”

In some good news, Rockstar promised more details about the game soon. So far, the company has only released one trailer for GTA VI, which had gamers clamoring for more footage.

A year ago, Rockstar's parent company, Take-Two Interactive, insisted that GTA VI would release in fall 2025, despite rumors of a potential delay.

Gamers have big expectations, especially since Rockstar’s last major single-player-focused title, Red Dead Redemption 2, is considered a masterpiece of epic storytelling, top-notch graphics, and engrossing open-world gameplay. 

However, the delay of GTA VI might cause other video game developers to try to fill the void since Rockstar is vacating the fall 2025 launch window. According to The Game Business Newsletter, some major publishers deliberately held off on confirming their games for Q4 to avoid competing against GTA VI.

For more on that, check out our roundup of the best games coming out in 2025.

About Our Expert

Michael Kan

Michael Kan

Principal Reporter

My Experience

I've been a journalist for over 15 years. I got my start as a schools and cities reporter in Kansas City and joined PCMag in 2017, where I cover satellite internet services, cybersecurity, PC hardware, and more. I'm currently based in San Francisco, but previously spent over five years in China, covering the country's technology sector.

Since 2020, I've covered the launch and explosive growth of SpaceX's Starlink satellite internet service, writing 600+ stories on availability and feature launches, but also the regulatory battles over the expansion of satellite constellations, fights with rival providers like AST SpaceMobile and Amazon, and the effort to expand into satellite-based mobile service. I've combed through FCC filings for the latest news and driven to remote corners of California to test Starlink's cellular service.

I also cover cyber threats, from ransomware gangs to the emergence of AI-based malware. In 2024 and 2025, the FTC forced Avast to pay consumers $16.5 million for secretly harvesting and selling their personal information to third-party clients, as revealed in my joint investigation with Motherboard.

I also cover the PC graphics card market. Pandemic-era shortages led me to camp out in front of a Best Buy to get an RTX 3000. I'm now following how the AI-driven memory shortage is impacting the entire consumer electronics market. I'm always eager to learn more, so please jump in the comments with feedback and send me tips.

The Best Tech I've Had:

  • My first video game console: a Nintendo Famicom
  • I loved my Sega Saturn despite PlayStation's popularity.
  • The iPod Video I received as a gift in college
  • Xbox 360 FTW
  • The Galaxy Nexus was the first smartphone I was proud to own.
  • The PC desktop I built in 2013, which still works to this day.

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