Publishers Reportedly Refuse to Commit to 2025 Until GTA 6 Release Date Gets Revealed

Grand Theft Auto publisher Take-Two Interactive still hasn't revealed the GTA 6 release date, and other publishers are reportedly refusing to commit to 2025 until they know they can avoid it.

Anonymous sources familiar with publisher deliberations told Bloomberg that the anticipation for Rockstar Games' next big title is so high that it's causing ramifications for the rest of the video game industry.

GTA 6 is currently scheduled for a vague fall 2025 release but many are cautious of a delay since Rockstar hasn't said anything about the game in over a year, since it released the record-breaking trailer showing off the modern Vice City.

Publishers therefore want to see if Rockstar will release GTA 6 in fall 2025 or postpone it to 2026, essentially so they can do the opposite. Grand Theft Auto is such a colossal franchise that rivals are scared of it monopolizing consumer attention, and GTA 6 in particular is expected to be the best-selling game of all time.

The GTA 6 trailer — which reintroduced fans to Rockstar's take on Miami, Vice City — featured a ton of intricate details (here are 99 things IGN spotted) and plenty of references to wild and wacky real life events too. While the game was revealed as a PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X and S game, PC players were left frustrated, though not necessarily surprised, that their platform was left off the list.

They weren't the ones a little peeved though, as several developers from Rockstar itself took to social media to express their frustration at the trailer leaking early. In fact, the entire industry shared their disappointment that the exciting moment was dampened. Several streamers were also hit with content strikes and takedowns in the wake of the leak.

Regardless, it still surpassed Minecraft to become the second most-watched video game trailer of all time with more than 168 million views in the first three months.

Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelance reporter. He'll talk about The Witcher all day.