Grand Theft Auto 6 is set for release on 19 November, with pre-orders scheduled to begin on 25 June, giving players the clearest timetable yet for what is expected to be the biggest games launch of the year.
The long-awaited Rockstar title still comes with major unanswered questions. The company and parent firm Take-Two have not announced the price, and there is no confirmed release plan for PC or Nintendo Switch 2.
Release date, platforms and price
GTA 6 is planned for PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X and S. Its current date follows two previous delays, first from autumn 2025 and then from May 2026. When the second delay was announced, Rockstar said it needed more time to finish the game with the level of polish fans had come to "expect and deserve."
Pricing may become one of the biggest questions when pre-sales open. Some analysts have estimated GTA 6 could be the first major game to reach $100, while others have put its development costs at more than $1bn. Rockstar has not confirmed either figure.
A return to Vice City
The game will take players to Leonida, Rockstar’s fictional version of Florida, with Vice City — inspired by Miami — returning as the central city. The latest cover art, revealed on 18 June, leaned into that setting with alligators and flamingos.
GTA 6 will feature Lucia, the series’ first playable female protagonist in a 3D entry, alongside Jason, her partner in life and crime. The two trailers released so far point to a crime story in the mould of a Bonnie and Clyde-style road saga after an "easy score goes wrong."
Why expectations are so high
The gap since the last mainline GTA game is part of the attention. Grand Theft Auto 5 was released in September 2013 and has sold nearly 230 million copies, making it one of the best-selling games ever. Rockstar first confirmed in February 2022 that it was working on the next game in the series.
The franchise’s combination of open-world freedom, satire and blockbuster scale has made each new entry a major cultural event as well as a commercial one. Freelance video games journalist Vic Hood told the BBC that the series has continued to push technical and gameplay boundaries, with GTA Online helping to shape the modern live-service model.
For now, the next firm milestone is 25 June, when pre-orders are due to begin and players may finally learn whether GTA 6 will also reset expectations for the price of a blockbuster game.
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