Grand Theft Auto VI

Grand Theft Auto VI
Developer(s)	Rockstar Games
Publisher(s)	Rockstar Games
Producer(s)	Sam Houser
Series	Grand Theft Auto
Ingine	RAGE
Platform(s)	PlayStation 5 Xbox Series X/S
Release	19 November 2026
Genre(s)	Action-adventur
Mode(s)	Single-pleyer

Grand Theft Auto VI is an upcomin action-adventur gemme developit an published bi Rockstar Games. It is owin tae be the aicht main Grand Theft Auto gemme, follaein Grand Theft Auto V (2013), an the saxteent entry oweraw. Set athin the fictional US state o Leonida, based on Florida, the story follaes the romantic criminal duo o Jason Duval an Lucia Caminos. Pleyers will be able tae freely roam Leonida's appen warld, that maistly featurs the Miami-inspired Vice City.

Follaein years o speculation an anticipation, Rockstar confirmed in Februar 2022 that the gemme wis in development. That September, fitage frae unfinished versions wis leaked on the internet in whit jurnalists descrieved as ane o the mucklest leaks in the history o the video gemme industrie. Grand Theft Auto VI wis formally revealed in December 2023. Follaein seevral delays, it is scheduled tae be lowsed on 19 November 2026 fur the PlayStation 5 an Xbox Series X/S.

Settin an chairacters

Grand Theft Auto VI is an action-adventur gemme set athin an appen warld. Its fictional US state o Leonida, based on Florida, includes Vice City, Grassrivers, an the Leonida Keys, based on Miami, the Everglades, an the Florida Keys, respectively; as weel as Ambrosia, Moont Kalaga Naitional Pairk, an Port Gellhorn. The gemme warld parodies 2020s American cultur, wi satirical depictions o social media an influencer cultur, modren law enforcement tactics an technologie sic as polis bouk cameras, an references tae Internet memes sic as Florida Man.

The story follaes a criminal couple: Jason Duval, wha wirkit fur local drogrinners in the Leonida Keys efter servin in the Airmy; an Lucia Caminos, the series's furst non-optional female protagonist, wha wis imprisoned at Leonida Penitentiary efter fechtin fur her faimily frae Liberty City. Follaein a dwined bank heist, the duo encoonter a state-wide conspiracy an are forced tae proteck ilk ither. Ither chairacters include: Cal Hampton, Jason's paranoid freend; Boobie Ike, wha rins a business empire in Vice City; Dre'Quan Priest, awner o the record label Only Raw Records wi Boobie; Bae-Luxe an Roxy, a muisical duo signed tae Only Raw unner the name Real Dimez; Raul Bautista, a saisoned bank robber; an Brian Heder, a langtime drog rinner in the Keys an Jason's landlaird.

Development an release

Rockstar Games begoud preliminary wirk on Grand Theft Auto VI in 2014 efter Grand Theft Auto V's lowse, wi early development stairtin in late 2018 follaein Red Dead Redemption 2. Principal production begoud in 2020, code-named Project Americas. Jason Schreier reportit the gemme wis "a moderately sized lowse" that wad expand ower time tae avoid its predecessors' developer crunch, an that it wad featur twa Bonnie an Clyde–inspired protagonists, includin a Laitina, an "a signeeficant onwab mode" akin tae Grand Theft Auto Online. He claimed the developers wur cautiously subvertin the series's trend o jokin aboot marginalisit groups. In 2018, The Know reportit that the gemme wad be set maistly in Vice City an pairtly in Sooth Americae, an in 2021, Tom Henderson claimed its cairt coud evolve akin tae Fortnite. The gemme is expectit tae uise the Rockstar Advanced Game Engine. It is the furst main Grand Theft Auto gemme syne the 1997 oreeginal (an the furst oweraw syne 2004's Advance) nae tae be written bi Dan Houser, wha left Rockstar in 2020.

The gemme becam heichly anticipatit in the years afore its annooncement, an some fans becam frustratit bi Rockstar's continued silence, pairticulairly efter it annoonced a re-lowse o Grand Theft Auto V in 2020. An individual received media attention fur interruptin seevral live stage an telly shaws tae reference the gemme. On 4 Februar 2022, Rockstar confirmed development wis "weel unnerwey". In Julie, Rockstar annoonced Red Dead Online wad nae receive mair major updates as development resoorces wis widrawn tae focus on the upcomin gemme. Industrie soorces statit Rockstar reallocatit addeetional resoorces efter planned remasters o Grand Theft Auto IV (2008) an Red Dead Redemption (2010) wis paused owin tae the backlash received bi Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy – The Definitive Edition (2021). Rumours an analysts suggestit the budget surpassed $1–2 billion, makin it the maist expensive gemme iver developit, thou the feegur remeens unverifee'd.

Grand Theft Auto VI wan Maist Wantit Gemme at the Gowden Joystick Awairds an Maist Anticipatit Gemme at the Gemme Awairds in baith 2024 an 2025. Anticipation spawned a meme indicatin bemusement that ither surprisin events occurred "afore GTA 6". Seevral publishers awaitit a lowse date annooncement afore schedulin thair awn gemmes, wi ithers prepared tae reschedule tae avoid competeetion; Schreier cawed it "a massive gemme o 4D chess pleyin oot across the entire video-gemme industrie". Some industrie feegurs hope it is selt fur US$80 tae $100—mair nor the staundard $70—as it wad prompt a wider trend, but analysts consider it unlikely as it coud leemit sales. Circana predictit the gemme coud help "reboond" the mercat wi record consumer spendin; DFC Intelligence projeckit sales o 40 million an earnins o $3.2 billion in the furst year—doublin Grand Theft Auto V, that haed the heichest-grossin gemme launch—includin $1 billion in preorders.

Rockstar requestit employees cease remote wirk an return tae offices frae Aprile 2024 "fur productivity an security" in "the final stages o development". The Independent Workers' Union of Great Britain (IWGB) criticised Rockstar fur contradictin thair promise tae maintain flexible wirkin condeetions; some employees wur concerned it coud negatively affeck staff heal an morale an prompt resignations an crunch. Kotaku's Zack Zwiezen reportit the decision wis pairtly tae avoid a delay, thou ither jurnalists an Rockstar's parent company, Take-Two Interactive, said the gemme remained on schedule fur late 2025. The amoont o remainin wirk led employees tae expect a delay; in Mey 2025, the gemme wis delayed tae 26 Mey 2026.

Rockstar fired 34 employees on 30 October 2025, citin public collogue an distribution o confidential information. The IWGB accused the company o union bustin, statin the employees wur attemptin tae unionise wi labour organisers; thay protestit ootside Rockstar North an Take-Two's offices. The follaein week, Rockstar delayed the gemme tae 19 November 2026, citin addeetional polish. Jurnalists notit the firins did nae cause the delay but coud lead tae missed deidlines; a Rockstar North employee said morale wis "at rock bottom", an Take-Two's stock price briefly drappit bi awmaist 10%. Ither developers supportit the delay an Pols politeecian Witold Tumanowicz jokingly referenced it in a Sejm session; some pleyers expressit thair wanin interest but ithers foond it acceptable. Analysts expectit publishers wad reschedule thair gemmes tae tak Grand Theft Auto VI's previous lowse windae or muive awey frae its new date tae avoid competeetion.

Promotion

In November 2023, Sam Houser, the preses o Rockstar Games, annoonced the furst trailer wad lowse in early December tae celebrate the company's 25t anniversary. Athin five oors, the annooncement on Twitter surpassed twa previous posts aboot the gemme tae become the platform's maist-likit gemmin-relatit post, later surpassed bi Rockstar's post annooncin the trailer's 5 December lowse date, wi 1.8 million liks in 24 oors. Ither developers imitatit the annooncement's formattin tae promote thair trailers. On 4 December, a low-quality version o the trailer wis leakit on Twitter; in repone, Rockstar published the offeecial version on YouTube, revealin the title, protagonists, settin, an 2025 lowse windae fur the PlayStation 5 an the Xbox Series X an Series S.

The trailer broke the record fur maist furst-day views on a non-muisic YouTube video athin 12 oors, wi 46 million, an, athin 24 oors, becam the thrid-maist-viewed oweraw, wi 93 million, an maist-likit gemme trailer, wi 8.9 million. It surpassed the lifetime viewership o Grand Theft Auto V's 2011 reveal trailer athin twa days, wi 101 million views, an becam the seicont-maist-viewed gemme trailer bi Januar 2024, wi 168 million, an the seicont-maist-viewed trailer iver bi November 2025, wi 268 million. Its featured sang, Tom Petty's "Love Is a Long Road", saw a near-37,000% increase in Spotify streams, haed awmaist 250,000 sairches on Shazam, an rankit seicont on the warldwide iTunes chairt. The trailer spawned fan-creatit recreations in ither video gemmes an mediums, includin as a brickfilm an in live-action.

A seicont trailer wis lowsed on 6 Mey 2025, revealin the protagonists' fou names. It featurs the Pointer Sisters's sang "Hot Together"—that saw a 182,000% increase in Spotify streams—as weel as Wang Chung's "Everybody Have Fun Tonight", "Child Support" bi Zenglen, an Tammy Wynette's "Talkin' to Myself Again". Rockstar reiteratit the trailer wis componed o cutscenes an gemmepley recordit on the PlayStation 5, follaein some viewers' doubts owin tae the heich graphical fidelity. Alangside the trailer cam an update tae the gemme's wabsteid wi 70 screenshots an seevral chairacter an location descriptions. The trailer received ower 475 million views athin 24 oors across aw platforms, surpassin Deadpool & Wolverine's record as the mucklest video launch. It wan Best Gemme Trailer at the Gowden Joystick Awairds in 2025.

Rockstar unveiled the kiver airt on 18 Juin 2026 an annoonced that preorders wad appen on 25 Juin, initiatin the mercatin campaign, fur that Rockstar pairtnered wi Sony Interactive Entertainment's PlayStation. Pheesical versions, conteenin anly dounload codes in lieu o disks, are set tae be available in stores on 12 November, allouin pre-loadin afore the gemme unlocks on its lowse date; jurnalists notit this follaed an existin trend an attreibutit the decision tae preventin leaks an reducin resellin, thou some retailers refused tae stock the gemme. Seevral pleyers an jurnalists creeticised the lack o disks, citin awnership restrictions, an the content lockit ahint the special edition: Ultimate Edition will grant addeetional in-gemme claethin, hairstyles, locations, missions, tattoos, vehicles, an wappens, whiles aw preorders receive the Vintage Vice City Pack, featurin in-gemme items inspirt bi Grand Theft Auto: Vice City (2002) an its protagonist, Tommy Vercetti.

Leaks

On 18 September 2022, a uiser kent as "teapotuberhacker" published 90 videos tae the wabsteid GTAForums shawin 50 meenits o wirk-in-progress gemme fuitage. Schreier confirmed wi soorces at Rockstar that the fuitage wis genuine, an The Guardian reportit it wis frae seevral stages o development, wi some videos aboot a year auld. The fuitage revealed a modren-day Vice City settin, contained animation an gemmepley tests, leivel layoots, an chairacter collogues, an depictit the pleyer chairacters, Lucia an Jason, enterin a strip club an robbin a diner. The hacker claimed tae be reponsible fur the Uber security breach frae the prior week, said thay haed dounloadit the files directly frae Rockstar's internal Slack groups, an threatened tae publish soorce code, assets, an internal biggs o Grand Theft Auto V an VI.

Take-Two reponed bi submittin takdouns o videos shawin or colloguin the leaks hostit on YouTube, an contactit GTAForums an Reddit moderators tae remuive access. The hacker wrate thay wur "leukin tae negotiate a deal" wi Rockstar or Take-Two. Jurnalists descrieved the event as ane o the mucklest leaks in video gemme history; Schreier cawed it "a nichtmare fur Rockstar Games" that coud leemit employees' remote-wirk flexibility. The Jefferies Group analyst Andrew Uerkwitz cawed it a "PR disaster" that coud potentially delay the gemme an diminish staff morale, but wis unlikely tae impact reception or sales. The Guardian notit the leakit fuitage wis bein widely creeticised "bi ill-informed uisers" owin tae its quality, in maugre o nae bein representative o the final product. Some uisers erroneously claimed graphics an airt assets are finalised early in gemme development. In solidarity, seevral developers skared wirk-in-progress fuitage o thair gemmes an some, includin Cliff Bleszinski, Neil Druckmann, Rami Ismail, an Alanah Pearce, offered seempathies tae Rockstar.

On 19 September, Rockstar confirmed the leak tae be a "netwirk intrusion" an lamentit the manner in that the gemme wis furst demonstratit, but did nae anticipate lang-term effecks on development. Thay disabled comments an replies on thair social media accoonts in the days follaein the leak. Take-Two eikit that steps haed been taken "tae isolate an conteen this incident". Take-Two's skare price drappit bi mair nor 6% in pre-mercat tredin that day, but rekivered durin regular tredin oors follaein thair statement. Uber acknawledgit the potential links tae thair security breach an notit thay wur wirkin wi the Federal Bureau o Investigation an the Unitit States Depairtment o Juistice. Thay believed the hacker wis affiliatit wi the group Lapsus$, that wis thoucht tae hae breached companies sic as Microsoft, Nvidia, an Samsung ower the precedin year. Strauss Zelnick, Take-Two's chairman an chief executive officer, said the incident caused the companies tae become mair vigilant wi cybersecurity an haed impactit staff emotionally but business remained unaffectit. Rockstar later claimed the incident cost the company $5 million an thoosands o staff oors tae rekiver.

A 17-year-auld lad frae Oxfordshire—identifee'd as "teapotuberhacker" an a key memmer o Lapsus$—wis arrestit bi the Ceety o Lunnon Polis on 22 September as pairt o an investigation supportit bi the Naitional Cyber Crime Unit an American federal law enforcement. Whiles on bail fur hackin EE an Nvidia an unner polis protection at a Travelodge hotlle, he breached Rockstar uisin a mobile phone, televeesion, an an Amazon Fire TV Stick, an threatened tae lowse the soorce code in a Slack message tae aw Rockstar staff. Appearin afore Highbury Corner Youth Coort, he pleadit guilty tae twa coonts o breachin bail condeetions an nae guilty tae twa coonts o computer misuse. The case wis referred tae a heicher coort whiles the lad wis remanded tae a yung offender institution. In mid-2023, he stuid trial at Soothwark Croun Coort fur twalve offences, includin sax coonts o computer misuse, three o bleckmail, an twa o fraud. He wis deemed unfit tae staund trial owin tae his autism; insteid o assessin his guilt, a jury determined he haed committit the acks. A judge placed him unner an indefinite hospital order in December fur bein a heich public risk as he expressed an intent tae continue committin cybercrimes

On 1 Januar 2025, a Reddit uiser postit a photograph an twa videos o a PlayStation 5 development kit rinnin the gemme, taken bi a person wha "wirkit at the Rockstar office fur a few months" in mid-2021; the post wis later deletit. Based on the office's surroondins, Eurogamer determined the photograph an videos wis taken at Rockstar San Diego. Polygon's Ian Walker foond nae new information wis revealed frae the post, that he cawed the "warst leak o aw time". Mony considered the appenin o the seicont trailer in Mey 2025—whaurin Jason is "juist fixin some leaks"—a reference tae the gemme's leaks. In November, fuitage imitatin the gemme received millions o views afore the creator admittit it wis a deepfake. Later that week, some development fuitage wis spottit in a umwhile Rockstar animator's demo reel.

Fremmit airtins

• Offeecial wabsteid