GTA 6 release date: November 19, 2026

Confirmed said by Rockstar or Take-TwoPreview report seen by press at Rockstar North, not officially statedRumor / leak unverified

When is GTA 6 coming out?

GTA 6 comes out on Thursday, November 19, 2026 on PlayStation 5, PS5 Pro and Xbox Series X|S. Confirmed Rockstar set the date in November 2025 and has repeated it at every earnings call and marketing beat since, including during the August 2026 leak crisis.

That makes the wait between GTA V (September 2013) and GTA VI more than thirteen years, the longest gap between mainline entries in the series.

GTA 6 countdown

Pre-load and physical copies

Digital pre-loading begins on November 12, 2026, a full week early, so you can have the game ready to go the moment it unlocks. Confirmed

Physical editions also go on sale on November 12, but there is no disc inside the box. The case holds a download code for the Standard Edition, so you will still need to download the game. Confirmed Start clearing storage space now; Rockstar has not published a final install size.

GTA 6 release date and delay history

From the first confirmation to launch, here is every milestone that shaped when GTA 6 would arrive.

1. February 4, 2022Rockstar confirms that active development on the next Grand Theft Auto is well under way.
2. September 2022A hacker leaks around 90 early development videos. Rockstar confirms the breach and says it is extremely disappointed.
3. December 4, 2023Trailer 1 is released a day early after it leaks. It reveals Leonida, Vice City and Lucia, with a '2025' window, and sets a YouTube record for a non-music video's first 24 hours.
4. May 2, 2025First delay: the game moves from fall 2025 to May 26, 2026.
5. May 6, 2025Trailer 2 introduces Jason and the supporting cast. Rockstar reports around 475 million views across platforms in 24 hours.
6. November 6, 2025Second delay: Rockstar moves launch to November 19, 2026, saying the extra months are for polish.
7. May 21, 2026Take-Two's earnings call locks in the November date and confirms pre-orders and marketing for the summer.
8. June 24–25, 2026Editions and prices revealed; pre-orders open at midnight local time on June 25.
9. August 18, 2026CyberLeek starts posting footage from a 2025 development build. The date does not move.
10. August 27, 2026The 26-minute Extended Look premieres on Netflix at 3 p.m. ET, then on YouTube at 9 p.m. ET.
11. September 17, 2026GTA VI: The Album is announced for November 19.
12. November 12, 2026Pre-loading opens and physical copies (code in a box) reach stores.
13. November 19, 2026Launch day on PS5 and Xbox Series X|S.

Why was GTA 6 delayed?

Both times, Rockstar said it needed more time to deliver the level of polish players expect. Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick said after the second delay that he was highly confident in the November date, and argued that shipping a game before it's ready does more harm than a delay. Rockstar has a long record of pushing dates back: Red Dead Redemption 2 slipped twice before its 2018 launch and went on to be one of the best-selling games ever.

What time will GTA 6 unlock?

Rockstar has not announced exact unlock times yet. Most console releases unlock at midnight in each region's local time, and our countdown above uses that assumption. We'll update this page as soon as the official schedule appears.

Release date FAQ