The GTA 6 roadmap Rockstar has planned between now and its 2025 release is likely locked down tightly after two significant leaks impacted the studio this year. But, while it's unlikely anything will slip out ahead of schedule, we can make a few predictions about what might happen based on what the studio has done with previous Grand Theft Auto games, and a few of its other releases. So let's take a look at the reveals, trailer schedules, and more, to try and work out what we can expect to see of GTA 6 in the next couple of years.
Nothing is certain except…
The first thing we can be sure of from previous games is that GTA 6 will likely be delayed. That's not just because most games are these days, but also because Rockstar has a long history of delaying its games. In fact, you'll have to go all the way back to 2006's Rockstar Games Presents Table Tennis to find a game that was released on time (unless you count 2009's Beaterator, which was announced without an initial release date).
With the GTA 6 trailer now confirmed for December 5, we're celebrating all things Grand Theft Auto this festive season. Welcome to Grand Theft Advent – a month-long celebration of Rockstar's enduring crime sim series. Be sure to check in on our GTA 6 coverage hub for more every day throughout December.
So a delay is a given, it's just a case of how much. GTA 5 is probably the best-case scenario here, delayed from its original 'Q2 2013' date to September 2013. That was a change of "about four months" according to Rockstar. GTA 4 on the other hand missed its original October 2007 release date to eventually arrive in April 2008, a delay of six months. So even with a delay, a 2025 release date isn't out of the question if GTA 6 is aiming for the start of the year - something Rockstar owner Take-Interactive's financial predictions seem to heavily suggest is the case.
However, if it's targeting a more fall/holiday release, then a 2026 release is a very real possibility. Factor in events like Red Dead Redemption 2's one-year delay and – NoGodPleaseNo.gif – Max Payne 3's three-year delay and a 2028 release date isn't impossible by Rockstar's previous standards. It's okay, take a moment…
The one ray of light here is that all evidence suggests that GTA 6 has been in development for a long time, with one video editor's Linkedin profile stating they were working on GTA 6 research from 2015. While a Bloomberg article says the game has been in development "in some form" since 2014. The 2022 gameplay leaks also suggested a game well into production and close to, if not already, alpha ("the stage when key gameplay functionality is implemented, and assets are partially finished), despite complaints about graphics from the community – something that is traditionally the last thing to be completely finished.
Trailer trails
One other main thing you can expect is to not expect much between now and whenever that release date eventually lands. In the two years between GTA 5's announcement and final release there was a reveal trailer, three trailers for each playable character (Michael, Franklin, and Trevor), and an official gameplay trailer. GTA 4 was similarly sparse with the basically named Grand Theft Auto 4 Trailer 1, Trailer 2, Trailer 3, and Trailer 4 between its E3 2006 announcement and 2008 release date. More recently, Red Dead Redemption 2 managed six trailers in the two years it took to come out – three 'official' trailers, a two part gameplay trailer, and a final launch trailer.
Based on the timing of much of these, you can expect to see very little in the next year or so (intentionally, at least). If Rockstar sticks to its usual pattern we'll likely get one more trailer next year, possibly some sort of character profile or look at the Leonida setting, but for anything like gameplay that's always historically dropped about two or three months before release. That was the case at least for both GTA 5 and Red Dead Redemption 2, while GTA 4 was so early on in the internet's life that 'gameplay trailers' weren't a thing yet and it just released those four trailers roughly equidistant between announcement and release.
The key thing is coverage only really ramps up in the last few months before launch, once that's firmly locked in. Both GTA 4 and GTA 5, for example, gave media hands-on access not that far out from the final release – GTA 4 hands-on previews took place three months before the game came out, while GTA 5 gave press a preview barely three weeks before the game released (most likely a preview slice embargoed from review access). Although for that, Game Informer did have an exclusive look eight months earlier.
Ultimately, while the hype is high, this first trailer may well be all you get to nourish you for the time being. Of course, a lot has changed since GTA 5 came out 10 years ago, so the pattern Rockstar has followed in the past might not be repeated this time. Then there's the precedent for leaks, which actually has the potential to reduce the chances of us seeing anything – with two high-profile breaches already it's possible people's desire to see more might actually get them less, as the studio holds its cards closer to its chest for protection. Whatever happens, it's going to be a long wait…
