Take-Two CEO Reveals GTA 6 Ran 18 Months Behind Its Original Schedule, Reaffirms November 19 Launch
Strauss Zelnick admitted on a podcast that GTA 6 is running about 18 months late, pointing to an unannounced spring 2025 original target before two public delays pushed the game to November 19, 2026.
Overview
Take-Two Interactive CEO Strauss Zelnick revealed during a podcast interview published May 17 that Grand Theft Auto VI is running approximately 18 months behind its original development schedule — a figure that, calculated backward from the game’s current November 19, 2026 release date, implies Rockstar Games had once targeted a spring 2025 launch that was never publicly announced. The admission sheds new light on a delay history that has been communicated to players in two formal steps but appears to have begun earlier than either announcement acknowledged.
What We Know
Zelnick made the remarks on the Founders podcast, hosted by David Senra, in an episode published on May 17, 2026. When pressed about how much time GTA 6 had slipped from its internal targets, he said: “I think we’re about 18 months behind the original date. Not much more than that.” Asked directly whether the November 19 date was firm, he responded: “It’s November 19th. I do know. No, it’s been announced.”
The two public delays are well documented. Rockstar first revealed, around May 2025, that the game would miss its originally communicated fall 2025 window and instead arrive on May 26, 2026. Then, in November 2025, the studio posted to X that it was pushing the game again: “Grand Theft Auto VI will now release on Thursday, November 19, 2026. We are sorry for adding additional time to what we realize has been a long wait, but these extra months will allow us to finish the game with the level of polish you have come to expect and deserve,” as Variety reported.
At the time of that second delay, Zelnick told Variety: “In this instance, of course, we’re seeking to release the most extraordinary title anyone’s ever seen in the history of entertainment. That’s a tall order. And in this instance, Rockstar Games believes a limited amount of additional time is required for polish to support that view.”
Zelnick’s 18-month remark suggests the game’s actual starting trajectory predates either of those public pivots. Kotaku was among the outlets to note that working backward from a spring 2025 baseline places the total delay at approximately 18 months relative to November 2026. The game’s first trailer, released in December 2023, committed only to a vague 2025 window; a second trailer arrived in May 2025, which would have coincided with that internal target, according to Kotaku.
GTA Boom notes that the two public delays account for roughly 12 to 14 months of the total slippage, with Zelnick’s 18-month figure pointing to an additional 4 to 6 months of internal schedule movement that predated any announcement. Insider Gaming’s Tom Henderson, when asked whether the game had originally been set for spring 2025, responded simply, “It was,” according to Gaming Bible.
Zelnick also characterized GTA as “the most valuable IP ever created,” Game Rant reported, and acknowledged that the game’s release fills him with anxiety given expectations. By GTA Boom’s count, Zelnick had publicly confirmed the November 19 date five times in 2026 before the podcast appearance.
What We Don’t Know
Rockstar has not officially commented on why GTA 6 slipped from its internal spring 2025 target before the delays were publicly disclosed. Zelnick’s interview offered no breakdown of what specifically drove the additional time. The game has not yet been released on PC — Rockstar has committed only to PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S at launch.
Pre-order details, pricing, and edition specifics remain unconfirmed by either Rockstar or Take-Two. Retailer leaks and insider speculation circulated around May 18, 2026, but no official announcement had been made as of that date. A Take-Two earnings call was scheduled for May 21, 2026, where further details may emerge.
Analysis
For players who have followed GTA 6 since the December 2023 trailer, Zelnick’s 18-month admission is not surprising in broad strokes — the game has been repeatedly delayed in a franchise where delay is the norm — but it is notable as the first time a company executive has put a cumulative number to the total slippage. The statement clarifies that the game was running behind schedule before any public announcement, a point the two formal delays did not make explicit.
With November 19, 2026 now representing the fifth or more publicly confirmed release window, and with Zelnick characterizing the franchise as the most valuable intellectual property in entertainment, the pressure attending the launch is substantial. Whether the six months of additional polish since the May 2026 pivot will prove enough — and whether no further delays materialize — remains the central question heading into what is expected to be one of the largest entertainment releases in history.