Despite the hype, Publisher Take-Two and developer Rockstar Games have not given a release date for Grand Theft Auto 6. Take-Two boss Strauss Zelnick suggests that it may be intentional.
Speaking on Bloomberg TV’s Wall St. Week, Zelnick explained that while some companies reveal schedules years ahead, Take-Two prefers to hold back.
When asked why GTA 6 details remain under wraps, he said the publisher prefers sharing marketing material “relatively” close to launch.
“The anticipation for [GTA 6] may be the greatest anticipation I’ve ever seen for an entertainment property, and I’ve been around the block a few times. And I’ve been in every entertainment business there is,”
Zelnick said.
“We want to maintain the anticipation and the excitement. We have competitors who will describe their release schedule for years in advance. We’ve found the better thing to do is to provide marketing materials relatively close to the release window in order to create that excitement, and balance the excitement with unmet expectation. We don’t always get it right. But that’s what we’re trying to do.”
So far, Rockstar has released just one trailer for GTA 6 back in December 2023. No additional trailers or screenshots have followed, and the studio has not discussed the game since then.
Zelnick also addressed why it has taken over a decade for a new GTA entry to come, given that Grand Theft Auto V launched in 2013. He said some competitors bring out new titles more often, but Take-Two sometimes “set[s] an intention” to let franchises rest, partly to build hype.
While GTA V stayed active through multiple platform releases and GTA Online updates, Rockstar has not delivered a new mainline installment since 2013.
Rockstar Games wants GTA 6 to be perfect
Take-Two’s sports titles appear every year, but non-sports series do not. “We think you need to create enormous anticipation,” Zelnick said, adding that huge projects demand time. “Rockstar Games seeks perfection in what they do. Perfection is a pretty high bar. It takes a long time.”
He also said Take-Two’s success depends on recruiting and retaining top developers. Zelnick described himself as lacking creative talent but possessing “some ability to figure out who’s really talented.” Once hired, teams get autonomy and creative freedom. “We’re not bugging them any more than necessary,” he said.
Zelnick noted that Take-Two offers “essentially unlimited financial resources to create perfection.” The company shares revenue with developers when a game does well, which he believes encourages people to stay.
So far, GTA 6 is officially slated for Fall 2025 on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S, with a possible PC edition later. The absence of a fixed date has caused concern among other studios, which want to avoid releasing games too close to such a high-profile launch.
Reports also suggest that some developers feel ongoing turmoil as they schedule their own releases to avoid overlapping with GTA 6.
Another major Take-Two title ‘Borderlands 4’ will release on 23 September. Some analysts think that the game might have a few weeks of breathing room before GTA 6 appears. This means that a launch date can be expected in October or November.
These theories, however, have not been confirmed by Rockstar or Take-Two. They also haven’t released more marketing material for GTA 6 yet, including the long-anticipated trailer 2.
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