GTA 6: New Rockstar announcement sparks fears of a delay to 2026

GTA 6 is currently set to launch in late 2025. A sketchy online retailer claims September 17 is the release date, though Rockstar Games has yet to confirm it. In fact, while fans eagerly await the second trailer, Rockstar remains tight-lipped about the game. Recent developments are now fueling concerns that the highly anticipated release could be pushed to 2026.

Instead of sharing new details about GTA 6, Rockstar Games announced on March 3, 2025, that it had acquired Video Games Deluxe, now rebranded as Rockstar Australia. This move raises new questions: Is the studio expansion meant to support GTA 6’s development or could it actually delay the release? The Australian studio is no stranger to Rockstar, having worked on the VR version of L.A. Noire and the mobile port of GTA: The Trilogy – The Definitive Edition.

Fans fear remaster will be a stopgap

On Reddit, some users speculate that Rockstar's acquisition of Video Games Deluxe serves a specific purpose – developing a GTA remaster to keep fans engaged until GTA 6 arrives. Many believe this could mean a remaster of GTA 4, widely regarded as one of the best entries in the series. In this context, a delay for GTA 6 wouldn’t be surprising. Rockstar has a history of last-minute postponements, having previously delayed Red Dead Redemption 2 and GTA 5.

On the other hand, many believe Rockstar wouldn’t allocate resources to a major remaster project at this stage of GTA 6’s development. Some also point out that the last major remaster, GTA: The Trilogy – The Definitive Edition, received a mixed reception, making Rockstar more cautious about similar projects. The studio acquisition could just as well support GTA 6’s development or even hint at L.A. Noire 2. For now, the concerns about a delay remain pure speculation – there are no official signs that GTA 6 will be postponed.