Rockstar's GTA 6 is finally coming out on November 19, but the game was originally set to release in 2025. When the development team informed head of publishing, Jennifer Kolbe, that a delay to May 2026 was necessary, she made a call to Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick to let him know. Months later, she had to make that call again, informing Zelnick that a second delay to November 2026 was required to deliver Rockstar's full ambition for GTA 6.
His response? “I think he said, ‘You’re kidding. Please tell me you’re kidding,’” Kolbe told Bloomberg. “But once we talked through why, he got it."
Kolbe said she felt fortunate that Zelnick is "as reasonable as he is," because other executives might not budge and inform the team they need to find a way.
"We have been really, really lucky that we have not found ourselves in that place, because that happens to a lot of teams, and we’ve all played those games. It’s not great," she said.
For his part, Zelnick said said that for the most part, delaying a game is actually a "wise investment in time and financial resources" if the delay results in "the level of perfection it has the ability to reach."
GTA 6 is releasing on November 19 for PS5 and Xbox Series X|S, but another delay is not out of the question. Development head Phil Hooker said GTA 6 is "never completely settled," nor does Rockstar have an "exact blueprint."
"Even within the last few months, we’ve changed things," he said.
That being said, no one is expecting GTA 6 to be delayed any further. Take-Two will release its next earnings report on November 10, and the company is expected to reiterate the November 19 release date during that event.
GTA 6's physical copies, which include a code in the box and not a disc, will be available to buy at retailers on November 12, though the game does not unlock until a week later.
For more, check out GameSpot's latest stories about GTA 6: