To your agendas! The release of the most anticipated video games “Grand Theft Auto VI” (“GTA VI”), hitherto announced for the fall of 2025, has been shifted on May 26, 2026. Its creators explain wanting to refine to the maximum before its launch.
200 million copies sold
“We hope you will understand that we need more time to bring you the level of quality you are waiting for,” said his publisher, Rockstar Games, in a statement published this Friday.
The stake is great for the company, while “GTA V” remains one of the most popular titles, twelve years after its marketing. Since its initial launch on PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, it has been adapted to all new consoles of Sony and Microsoft as well as on PC, thus extending its lifespan and sales, which now exceed 200 million copies.
In this new part, for which few details have filtered, the players will cross Vice City, a frame inspired by Miami which was already in a “Grand Theft Auto” released in 2002. The first trailer of the game, unveiled in December 2023, suggested races, parties on yachts and, for the first time, a female character among the protagonists. It has since been viewed 250 million times on the Rockstar Games YouTube page.
-An issue for an entire industry
The success of this saga was not exempt from controversy, especially because of its sulfurous aspect which stages individuals with criminal behavior and who encourages, according to his detractors, the players to reproduce in real life the acts of their character. Accusations rejected by his developers.
Beyond Rockstar Games, it is the whole industry that had its eyes on this launch, while the sector has experienced growth for two years, after taking advantage of the confinements linked to the COVIR to break records in terms of turnover.
Analysts expected two new products to restart the video game this year: “Grand Theft Auto VI” and the Nintendo Switch 2, scheduled for June 5. Until now, pre-orders for the machine to succeed the very popular Switch seem to be there and exceeded 2 million at the end of April for Japan alone.
“If one of them is postponed or does not encounter the expected success”, the industry could find itself in a “very complicated” situation, Mat Piscatella, of the Circana Cabinet, told AFP. The wait, too, becomes “complicated” for many gamers around the world. In the meantime, “GTA V”, which has been running on consoles and PC for more than a decade, has a few beautiful nights in front of it.
