Take-Two CEO Confident in GTA 6’s 2026 Launch, Teases New Rockstar Projects

Take-Two CEO Confident in GTA 6’s 2026 Launch, Teases New Rockstar Projects

Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick is betting big on GTA 6’s release date. After a delay from Fall 2025, he told CNBC his “level of conviction is very, very high” that Grand Theft Auto VI will hit its new May 26, 2026 launch.

Rockstar’s Obsession With Perfection

Zelnick said Rockstar’s formula has always been to set sky-high expectations and then crush them. He praised the team’s push for “perfection” but warned that hype means nothing without results:
“We have to deliver something great to consumers, and then the consumers are going to tell us just how great it is.”

The extra months, he added, are all about polish. Rockstar has a track record of delaying games to make sure they exceed expectations, and GTA 6 is no exception.

More Rockstar Projects Brewing

While GTA 6 is the main event, Zelnick confirmed Rockstar has multiple other games in development. Reports point to:

• A GTA IV remaster
• Red Dead Redemption II for Switch 2
• Next-gen upgrades of RDR2 for PS5 and Xbox Series X|S
• Max Payne 1 & 2 remakes with Remedy

Some of these could arrive as early as late 2025, giving fans plenty to chew on before GTA 6 lands.

Big Sales, Big Industry Impact

Even with the delay, analysts still see GTA 6 breaking records, forecasting 40 million sales in its first year, with a later PC release driving a second wave.

The push to 2026 was a setback for the wider gaming market, which had banked on GTA 6 for a 2025 revenue boost. Still, that year won’t be empty: Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 and Battlefield 6 are both set to launch, marking the first time in years both FPS giants drop new entries in the same window.

Zelnick is confident, Rockstar is focused, and the pipeline is packed. GTA 6 is shaping up to be the biggest release of the decade, with more surprises coming before its arrival.