Despite GTA 6 release date confidence, Take-Two Interactive stock keeps falling

Ahead of the publisher’s May 21st earnings call, Take-Two Interactive stock rallied. Investors particularly saw a sharp rise after a leak suggested GTA 6 pre-orders would start on May 18th. However, that momentum didn’t continue, even once CEO Strauss Zelnick reaffirmed its November release date.

Did a GTA 6 leak manipulate the market?

With the Best Buy email surfacing on May 13th, the stock closed at its highest price since January 2026 the next day. Rising by as much as 10%, the value of Take-Two surged by $2 billion. Once skepticism grew over the pre-order timing, shareholders’ enthusiasm cooled. Still, it wasn’t until the company’s fiscal report on May 21st that a noticeable selloff began.

On May 27th, the stock opened at 11.5% below its May 14th peak. Part of the explanation may be that Rockstar Games didn’t set a price or allow buyers to reserve its title. An anticipated third trailer has also yet to premiere. Although Zelnick didn’t announce another GTA 6 release date delay, the industry has seen little progress since the second video premiered in May 2025.

Some holders likely have lingering doubts that the game will ship on time. During the earnings call, the Take-Two CEO also quoted figures that didn’t align with expectations. The publisher is confident that the company will earn approximately $8 billion in its next fiscal year, but that is under most estimates. Investopia explained why observers considered it a conservative forecast.

Nearly all analysts believe that the the title will achieve sales records. Discussed at IGN, DFC Intelligence expects pre-orders to generate over $1 billion in pre-order revenue. Some of the loftiest projections anticipate 40 million copies sold in the game’s first year on the market. Given those eye-popping numbers, Zelnick seemed to downplay its potential.

Ever increasing gaming expenses

Take-Two has shown restraint with its previous financial outlooks. Regardless, other investors are aware of how gaming has become a more costly form of entertainment. Faced with storage and memory shortages, Microsoft, Sony, and Nintendo all increased the price of their consoles. Even when the GTA 6 release date on Windows arrives, gaming PCs may remain unaffordable.

A challenging economy could limit adoption, but a large Xbox and PS5 install base exists. Most analysts have optimistic long-term projections for the Take-Two Interactive stock.