If GTA 6 gets delayed again, it may never live up to its hype – here's exactly why

• Fans are expecting another GTA 6 delay into 2027
• This comes after reports suggest the physical edition will be delayed to prevent leaks
• Grand Theft Auto 6 is still slated to release on November 19, 2026

Rockstar Games is still hard at work attempting to fulfill its new November 19, 2026, release date for GTA 6, after multiple delays following its initial announcement in 2022, and doubts about the current slate are rampant.

How do we know? Well, we asked our readers via our TechRadar WhatsApp channel (available for the latest news and updates) whether the long-anticipated title will be worth the wait. This comes after two separate delays, with the latest one pushing the launch date further down the line to fall in 2026 (was previously set for May 26, 2026), along with rumors that more delays could be in the pipeline.

The overwhelming majority of votes (a major 59%) side with 'ask me in 2027', which suggests that many believe another delay may actually be in store. This isn't far-fetched either, since recent reports state that Rockstar Games plans to delay the physical edition of GTA 6 to prevent spoilers before all players can get their hands on.

While that isn't exactly a delay for the game itself, many consumers are intent on owning physical copies of games, and this measure might leave most without physical copies since gamers will want to be playing on day one.

Besides, Bloomberg's Jason Schreier recently reported that the last he heard from the hotly anticipated game is that it wasn't content-complete. It must be noted that this is considered a normal thing for Rockstar Games, which explains why the final product is often well polished, but it may not be enough to shake fans' worries of another delay.

While 22% of the voters believe GTA 6 will be worth the long wait, a fair amount also believe it won't – and based on the 59% of voters with delay concerns, it's enough to infer that Rockstar's (arguably) most anticipated game may not live up to the hype.

Opinion: another GTA 6 delay could be problematic

There's no doubt in my mind that Rockstar Games' Grand Theft Auto 6 will be an absolute blockbuster, selling millions of copies on its launch day. However, if another delay truly is in store (especially a lengthy one), more questions of whether what the game has to offer was really worth waiting so long for.

In other words, the longer this game continues to be delayed, there's a risk that Rockstar Games may miss the right time to capture and utilize the hype, no matter how good GTA 6 is.

That's pure speculation on my side: frankly, the game hasn't started its full marketing campaign yet, and my tone might change drastically once that time arrives. All it took for Rockstar Games to quell concerns and frustrations after the first delay was 2nd trailer and plenty of in-game screenshots to get the hype train up and running again.

I truly do hope the November 19, 2026 slate is final, and I'm sure everyone will be praying for a smooth sailing development journey for developers at Rockstar Games, so we can all enjoy what's been anticipated for a long 13 years.

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