"I’m highly confident on the new date": Take-Two CEO positive about GTA 6 second delay

Take Two Interactive CEO Strauss Zelnick says the company fully supports Rockstar Games as they delay GTA 6 to November 19, 2026. Right before Take-Two's quarterly earnings call on November 6, 2025, Rockstar announced that they are delaying the game. The news immediately went viral on every social media platform, with fans venting out their frustration. However, Take-Two CEO remains positive about it.

In a recent interview with IGN, Strauss Zelnick said that he feels confident about the new release date as well. He explained that GTA developers have asked for more time in the past to polish games, and the final result was worth all the wait. He added that many companies release their titles without polishing them, which has had massive negative effects. Hence, he is positive about the revised release date.

"I’m highly confident. And at the same time, there have been limited circumstances where more time was required to polish a title and make sure that it was spectacular and that time has been well-spent, when our competitors go to market before something was ready, bad things happen. That said, that said, I’m highly confident on the new date," Zelnick said.

Take-Two CEO also added that he and his company fully support Rockstar Games and wanted to give them enough time to finish GTA 6.

“We wanted to give Rockstar the appropriate amount of time to polish the title and make sure it can be the very best it can be," he added.

Since the delay news went live right before Take-Two's earnings call, there was no major development discussed in the call itself. Zelnick spoke about the delay and reiterated that he is confident in Rockstar's work.

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Rockstar Games issued a statement for delaying GTA 6

Rockstar Games announced the GTA 6 delay on November 6, 2025 (November 7, 2025, for eastern time zones). They published official social media posts and also a newswire on their website. In the statement attached to the delay announcement, they explained that they need more time to polish the game and make it as perfect as possible to meet fans' high expectations.

"Hi everyone, 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," the statement read. "We want to thank you again for your patience and support. While the wait is a little longer, we are incredibly excited for players to experience the sprawling state of Leonida and a return to modern day Vice City. Sincerely, Rockstar Games"

Now, the revised GTA 6 release date is November 19, 2026, almost a year from today.

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Edited by Akshat Kabra