Grand Theft Auto VI's November 19, 2026 release date is drawing nearer. And while the game has now suffered multiple delays, Take-Two Interactive is starting to sound more confident than we've ever heard them that this time, it's really happening. So confident, in fact, it's announced that Rockstar will be spinning up its marketing beats this summer.
This comes from Take-Two's Q3 2026 earnings results, which were just released. In those earnings, Take-Two reaffirms that GTA 6 is indeed still planned for November 19, 2026. That on its own would be exciting news after two separate delays, but even better is a sentence at the bottom of the release sent to IGN. "Our execution throughout Fiscal 2026 has been extraordinary and we are highly confident as we approach Fiscal 2027 – which promises to be groundbreaking for Take-Two and the entire entertainment industry – led by the November 19th release of Grand Theft Auto VI with Rockstar’s launch marketing set to begin this Summer. "
That's sounding pretty confident, to me! Speaking to Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick earlier today, I asked him how he felt about the release date at this time, to which he replied, "I feel good about it. Very good about it."
Now, we've asked Zelnick this before, and he said he felt "really good" about the fall 2025 release date that was originally announced, ahead of two delays. So I asked him if this time was different in some way.
"Of course," he said. "Because any time you're getting closer to marketing beats, you're obviously in a place where your confidence level is as high as it can be."
GTA 6 is one of the most anticipated games of all time, with many already suggesting it as a potential Game of the Year contender despite us not having seen any gameplay footage of it yet, leaks and AI fakes going viral all over social media late last year, and its delays having potential industry-shaking impacts. So far, we've seen two cinematic trailers for the game, which have shown the dual protagonists Duval and Lucia Caminos, and the setting of Leonida, Florida, including the infamous Vice City.
Even without GTA 6, GTA as a franchise had a great quarter. It "vastly outpaced" Take-Two's forecasts, with GTA+ membership levels nearly doubling year-over-year. We asked Zelnick for insight as to the cause of GTA 5's excellent quarter, and he pointed to the Safehouse in the Hills update for GTA Online doing especially well. GTA 5 has now sold over 225 million units.
Overall, Take-Two brought in net bookings of $1.76 billion for the quarter. The company is raising its expectations in light of a better-than-expected quarter on multiple fronts, with total annual net bookings expected to range between $6.65 billion to $6.7 billion, representing around 18% growth year over year. Take-Two expects that nearly half of its full-year earnings, which it will report next quarter, will come from its mobile business, Zynga.
Rebekah Valentine is a senior reporter for IGN. Got a story tip? Send it to [email protected].
