Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick says there will be a lot of people calling in sick on November 19, 2026, which is definitely good news for anyone fearing another GTA 6 delay.
Speaking at the Interactive Innovation Conference, where Zelnick spoke about the approach to pricing GTA 6 and that Rockstar will spin up marketing "soon," he said, "What we think about is making the most spectacular piece of entertainment on Earth, in history – and it’s a pretty daunting challenge. If we do that, and if we’re of service to our customers, then the upside will take care of itself." And that he expects "a lot of people will be calling in sick on November 19" (thanks, IGN).
While it's just a bit of a jokey comment, it does show that – as far as Take-Two is concerned – GTA 6 will be releasing on November 19, 2026. Obviously, with Rockstar, there are always delays, and there's a fear that the developer will further delay GTA 6 once more.
And of course, he's right about the calling-in-sick prediction: massive game releases have had this for decades at this point – most notably, Dragon Quest games release on Saturdays in Japan to avoid kids skipping school (with an urban legend alleging this was by law). And given that GTA 6 is probably the single-most anticipated game of all time, there's bound to be a ton of people ready to take holidays, and the ones that couldn't get them are ready to call in sick.
Unfortunately, by writing this, I've now got concrete evidence against me if I decide to call in sick when GTA 6 comes out, so please think of me when you're creating your best fake-sore-throat voice before calling work.
