In light of Rockstar Games having recently announced a delay to Grand Theft Auto 6’s highly-anticipated release, CEO of parent company Take-Two Interactive, Strauss Zelnick, has revealed why the release date was announced so far ahead in advance. In an interview with The Game Business, Zelnick said that the company believes in a game’s release date, but still offers developers room to delay the release if the title requires more polish.
“When we set a date, we really do believe in it,” said Zelnick. “We said when we set the last date, if a game requires more polish to be the best possible version of itself, then we will give that game more time. And that’s exactly what happened. We feel really good about this release date. It’s in the same fiscal year, it happens to be a great release window, and naturally, we’re really supportive of Rockstar’s approach.”
When asked why the release date was announced so far ahead in advance, only to be delayed to a much later date – November 19, 2026 – Zelnick noted that companies also need quite a bit of time to start marketing upcoming releases. The delay was also announced this far in advance to “give consumers as much certainty as possible.”
“It’s not that far in advance if you look at when you need to deliver a game to get it out,” Zelnick said. “Also, we have to start marketing activities in a significant amount of time ahead of release. What we want to do is give consumers as much certainty as possible. And again, we feel quite good about this date.”
The sentiment is echoed in the statement that Zelnick gave to IGN earlier today, where he noted that Take-Two Interactive wanted to give Rockstar “the appropriate amount of time to polish the title and make sure it can be the very best it can be.” Polish being the main reason for the delay was also mentioned by Rockstar itself when it announced Grand Theft Auto 6’s delay.
“We are sorry for adding additional time to what we realize has been a long wait, but these extra months will allow us to finish the game with the level of polish you have come to expect and deserve,” said the developer in its own statement.
The last bit of marketing we had seen for Grand Theft Auto 6 was a trailer released all the way back in May, which introduced the two protagonists – Jason and Lucia. The trailer also showcased the sights and sounds that players will experience when the game finally launches, and its new take on Vice City is on full display.
The trailer didn’t really show off any gameplay, however, instead focusing on providing a montage of the kinds of activities and missions that will be available in Grand Theft Auto 6, ranging from partying to illicit activities and even the involvement of the Vice City Police Department.
Grand Theft Auto 6 is being developed for PS5 and Xbox Series X/S with word on a PC release still to come.
