Fans of video games might become so enraged by the delay that they desire to commit crimes.
Rockstar Games, a videogame developer, said on Friday that it was postponing the release of its highly anticipated Grand Theft Auto VI until May 2026 in order to make sure the game would live up to the enormous expectations of gamers.
“We’ve always tried to go above and beyond your expectations with every game we’ve launched, and Grand Theft Auto VI is no different. In a press release, the firm stated, “We hope you understand that we need this extra time to deliver at the level of quality you expect and deserve.”
Shares of Rockstar’s parent firm, Take-Two Interactive Software Inc. (TTWO), fell over 7% right away as a result of the revelation, which delays the release from its initially stated target of late fall 2025.
However, the selloff occurs following Thursday’s record-high closing price of the stock. In 2025, it has increased by 19.5%, whilst the S&P 500 index, or SPX, has decreased by 3.9%.
The final version of Grand Theft Auto, one of the most popular videogame series ever, was released by Rockstar more than ten years ago. For Take-Two, the release was anticipated to be a major source of income and profit.
However, analysts advised patience, stating that such delays are very common in the gaming industry and that Take-Two’s stock was only inconvenienced rather than seriously harmed.
“A seven-month delay isn’t that significant after more than ten years of development. According to Jordan Klein of Mizuho Securities USA, it is more of a nuisance.
“It could have been much worse than a brief delay to rush the game out,” he said.
“The worst thing for [Take-Two] and its stock would have been if they rushed to release GTA6 for the 2025 holidays, and the game was not fully baked and the Metacritic review would have been bad, crushing the stock and damaging the upside case,” he stated in a client letter.
Take-Two stated that it did not anticipate that the postponement would significantly affect its anticipated growth goals for 2026 and 2027.
“Although we acknowledge the enormous and profound global expectation for Grand Theft Auto VI and take the movement of our titles seriously, we are unwavering in our dedication to quality. We anticipate a multi-year period of business development and increased value for our stockholders as we continue to release our incredible pipeline,” the company stated.
According to a note sent to clients by Baird Equity Research, the fact that the delay was only six months or so does not indicate that there would be any significant issues with the release.
“Usually, we would take such comments to suggest that the gameplay has been improved, some bugs have been fixed, and/or some general quality improvements have been made. “We do not believe that a six-month delay for a game of this scale (already more than a decade in development) means there are necessarily long-term consequences,” Baird’s note stated. “Shares will be understandably under pressure given a significant amount of revenue and profit shifting to the next fiscal year and questions on reasons for the push-back.”
According to the analysis firm, Take-Two rival Electronic Arts Inc. (EA) may benefit from a more open road for the release of the most recent iteration of its Battlefield game later this year. Early trading saw a 7% increase in EA shares.
