Grand Theft Auto VI[5] is an upcoming video game, scheduled for release on May 26, 2026,[2] which will be published by Rockstar Games.[6] It is due to be the seventeenth installment in the Grand Theft Auto series, and the seventh HD Universe title of the series. The game's official name was revealed in the first trailer on December 4, 2023, at 6:00PM US Eastern Time.
Plot
The story is expected to follow criminal duo Lucia Caminos and Jason Duval. The game is expected to take place in the HD Universe.[3]
Setting
The game takes place in several counties in the State of Leonida, including Vice-Dale County (home to the neon-soaked streets of Vice City).
To date, three counties have been identified by name via trailers and promotional material. The entire playable area of Leonida has yet to be officially revealed.
Development
The game was first confirmed to be under active development by Rockstar Games on February 4, 2022, with a promise to provide more details in the future.[7] On July 7, 2022, in a further post on their Newswire, Rockstar confirmed that over the past few years, they had steadily been moving more resources and staff "towards the next entry in the Grand Theft Auto series - understanding more than ever the need to exceed players’ expectations and for this next entry to be the best it can possibly be".[8] Development was confirmed to still be active development by two quarterly earnings calls by Take-Two Interactive on August 8, 2022 and May 17, 2023. Take-Two asserted that Rockstar Games was "determined to set creative benchmarks for the series, industry and entertainment.[9] In the May 17th call, Take-Two also confirmed that they were expecting to release a number of "ground-breaking titles" in Fiscal Year 2025 which will "allow us to achieve over $8 billion in Net Bookings", which a portion of the GTA community believed to be a soft confirmation of the game's general release timeline.[10]
With the release of the game's first trailer on December 4, 2023, the game's official name, Grand Theft Auto VI, was finally confirmed.[5] Shortly after the trailer's release, Take-Two Games published their acclamation on Rockstar Games' upcoming 2025 release.[6] Several variants of the game's logomark were trademarked on the United States Patent and Trademark Office website on December 4 and 5, 2023.[11][12]
On May 16, 2024, Take-Two Interactive narrowed the release date of GTA VI from Fiscal Year 2025 to the Fall of Calendar Year 2025 in their Q4 Earnings Presentation.[13] This date would be solidified by later Q1, Q2, and Q3 Earnings Presentations.[14][15][16] With the release of the Q3 presentation on February 6, 2025, Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick also added in an IGN interview that he and Rockstar Games felt "really good" about the Fall 2025 release window.[17] However, approximately two weeks before the Q4 presentation, the game was delayed and given a fixed release date of May 26, 2026.
Announcement
On behalf of our entire team, we thank you all for your support and cannot wait to step into the future with you!”
The first official announcement for the next Grand Theft Auto title was in February 2022, on the Rockstar Newswire.[7] On November 8, 2023, in a thank you post celebrating Rockstar Games' 25th anniversary, Rockstar confirmed that the first trailer for the upcoming Grand Theft Auto game would be released in "early December" of the same year.[18]
On December 1, 2023, Rockstar further confirmed that the first trailer for the upcoming Grand Theft Auto game would be released on December 5, 2023 at 9:00 AM US Eastern Time.[19] A one-time overlay appeared on Rockstar's official website, featuring palm trees against a sunset backdrop, with the trailer date and time displayed. Subsequent to the trailer announcement, Rockstar Games concealed all previous posts on their Instagram feed.
Trailer 1 release
The first trailer for Grand Theft Auto VI was released on December 4, 2023. The trailer was scheduled for a December 5 YouTube Premiere, but less than 16 hours before Trailer 1's scheduled release, the trailer was leaked online.[20] Almost immediately, Rockstar Games brought ahead the trailer's release, and shortlisted the YouTube Premiere at 6:00 PM US Eastern Time on December 4.[21]
The trailer amassed over 90 million video views within its first 24 hours, making it the second most viral YouTube video of all time.[22] In just over 6 months, the YouTube upload reached 200 million views.[23] Little further information on the game would be released until the announcement of the game's delay in May of 2025.
Delay announcement & Trailer 2 release
Grand Theft Auto VI is now set to release on May 26, 2026.
We are very sorry that this is later than you expected. The interest and excitement surrounding a new Grand Theft Auto has been truly humbling for our entire team. We want to thank you for your support and your patience as we work to finish the game.
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. We hope you understand that we need this extra time to deliver at the level of quality you expect and deserve.
We look forward to sharing more information with you soon.
Sincerely,
Rockstar Games”On May 2, 2025, Rockstar Games announced that the game would release on May 26, 2026, pushing back the initial anticipated release of Fall 2025.[2] This announcement would later be accompanied by the release of the game's second trailer on May 6,[24] alongside a complete refresh of the GTA VI section of the Rockstar Games website.
Across all video platforms, the second trailer amassed over 475 million video views within its first 24 hours, with its YouTube upload alone reaching 84 million views in the first 24 hours.[25] Music streaming platform Spotify also reported that the main featured music track in the trailer, "Hot Together" by The Pointer Sisters, had a 182,000% increase in streams after the trailer's debut.[25]
Controversy
Leaks
The game has been subject to four major leaks during its development, beginning with the most significant of those in September 2022, wherein download links to over 90 video clips and screenshots of the game's development were posted on GTAForums.com, with most recent leak occurring in January 2025, when a photograph and two videos of a PlayStation 5 development kit running the game were posted on Reddit.
Music
On February 25, 2024, the canvas for Anita Ward's "Ring My Bell" on Spotify was replaced with the GTA VI logo, leading many people to believe the song was to be used in the game's second trailer.[26] The change went viral on social media, leading to Anita's management dismissing the claims via Spotify several days later.[27]
On September 7, 2024, Martyn Ware, founder of the English synth-pop band Heaven 17, claimed members had been offered $7,500 each by Rockstar Games to use their hit song "Temptation" in the game, including a buyout of any future royalties earned from the game.[28][29] He later claimed to have made a counter-offer, which Rockstar refused. The post caused outrage online, with many claiming that they "made a bad decision", while others claimed he "did good" by refusing the offer.[30]
Gallery
Screenshots
Characters
Locations
Artwork
Logos
Trailers
Reception
Accolades
| Date | Award | Category | Recipient(s) and Nominee(s) | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12 December 2024 | The Game Awards 2024 | Most Anticipated Game | Grand Theft Auto VI | Won |
Trivia
- The game features the first voiced female protagonist of the series (previous female protagonists were depicted as silent criminals).
- The game adapted two historical figures and at least one company from the Redemption Universe of the Red Dead series into the HD Universe of the Grand Theft Auto series, presumably as a result of the collaboration with Rockstar San Diego during the game's development.
- The game appears to be the first numbered title since Grand Theft Auto III to use the "subtitle version" of GTA's Pricedown logo.
- Following Rockstar Games' confirmation of the release date for the upcoming GTA's first trailer, a number of game studios posted dummy trailer/update announcements on X with almost identical styles, color schemes and release dates to that of the upcoming GTA title's announcement. These included Mediatonic's Fall Guys[31], 343 Industries' Halo[32], and Raven Software's Call of Duty.[33]
- The reveal of State of Leonida in the first trailer retcons the few mentions to Florida in Grand Theft Auto IV by Niko Bellic, Hossan Ramzy, and Weazel News. However, the game appears to be faithfully following the HD Universe's Vice City lore established since Grand Theft Auto IV, in terms of geographical characteristics and ethnic makeup.
- The first trailer also implies that Grove Street Games used assets from Grand Theft Auto VI during the development of Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy - The Definitive Edition in 2021 (e.g. Daewang logo).
- Further textures were later included in Title Update 1.112 by Video Games Deluxe in an attempt to replace/fix previous AI upscaled textures, including a texture asset originally used for Uncle Jack's Liquor in Grand Theft Auto VI, visible in the final shot of the first trailer.[ref?]
External Links
References
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