Grand Theft Auto VI

Grand Theft Auto VI is an upcoming action-adventure game developed and published by Rockstar Games. It is due to be the eighth main Grand Theft Auto game, following Grand Theft Auto V (2013), and the sixteenth entry overall. Set within the fictional US state of Leonida, based on Florida, the story follows the romantic criminal duo of Jason Duval and Lucia Caminos. Players will be able to freely roam Leonida's open world, which predominantly features the Miami-inspired Vice City.

Following years of speculation and anticipation, Rockstar confirmed in February 2022 that the game was in development. That September, footage from unfinished versions was leaked on the internet in what journalists described as one of the biggest leaks in the history of the video game industry. Grand Theft Auto VI was formally revealed in December 2023. Following several delays, it is scheduled to be released on 19 November 2026 for the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S.

Setting and characters

Grand Theft Auto VI is an action-adventure game set within an open world. Its fictional US state of Leonida, based on Florida, includes Vice City, Grassrivers, and the Leonida Keys, based on Miami, the Everglades, and the Florida Keys, respectively; as well as Ambrosia, Mount Kalaga National Park, and Port Gellhorn. The game world parodies 2020s American culture, with satirical depictions of social media and influencer culture, modern law enforcement tactics and technology such as police body cameras, and references to internet memes such as Florida Man.

The story follows a criminal couple: Jason Duval, who worked for local drugrunners in the Leonida Keys after serving in the Army; and Lucia Caminos, the series's first non-optional female protagonist, who was imprisoned at Leonida Penitentiary after fighting for her family from Liberty City. Following a failed bank robbery, the duo encounter a state-wide conspiracy and are forced to protect each other. Other characters include: Cal Hampton, Jason's paranoid friend; Boobie Ike, who runs a business empire in Vice City; Dre'Quan Priest, owner of the record label Only Raw Records with Boobie; Bae-Luxe and Roxy, a musical duo signed to Only Raw under the name Real Dimez; Raul Bautista, a seasoned bank robber; and Brian Heder, a longtime drug runner and Jason's landlord.

Development and release

Rockstar Games began preliminary work on Grand Theft Auto VI in 2014 after Grand Theft Auto V's release, with early development starting in 2018 following Red Dead Redemption 2. Principal production began in 2020, code-named Project Americas. Jason Schreier reported the game was "a moderately sized release" that would expand over time to avoid its predecessors' developer crunch, and that it would feature two Bonnie and Clyde–inspired protagonists, including a Latina, and "a significant online mode" akin to Grand Theft Auto Online. He claimed the developers were cautiously subverting the series's trend of joking about marginalised groups. In 2018, The Know reported that the game would be set primarily in Vice City and partly in South America, and in 2021, Tom Henderson claimed its map could evolve akin to Fortnite. The game is expected to use the Rockstar Advanced Game Engine. It is the first main Grand Theft Auto game since the 1997 original (and the first overall since 2004's Advance) not to be written by Dan Houser, who left Rockstar in 2020.

The game became highly anticipated in the years before its announcement, and journalists noted some fans became frustrated by Rockstar's continued silence, particularly after they announced a re-release of Grand Theft Auto V in 2020. An individual referring to the game received media attention for interrupting several live stage and television shows. On 4 February 2022, Rockstar confirmed development was "well underway". In July, Rockstar announced Red Dead Online would not receive more major updates as development resources were withdrawn to focus on the upcoming game. Industry sources stated Rockstar reallocated additional resources after planned remasters of Grand Theft Auto IV (2008) and Red Dead Redemption (2010) were paused due to the backlash received by Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy – The Definitive Edition (2021). Rumours suggested the budget surpassed $1–2 billion, making it the most expensive game ever developed, though the figure remained unverified.

Grand Theft Auto VI won Most Wanted Game at the Golden Joystick Awards and Most Anticipated Game at the Game Awards in both 2024 and 2025. Anticipation spawned an internet meme indicating bemusement that other surprising events occurred "before GTA 6". Several publishers awaited a release date announcement before scheduling their own games, with others prepared to reschedule to avoid competition; Schreier called it "a massive game of 4D chess playing out across the entire video-game industry". Some industry figures hope it is sold for US$80 to $100—more than the standard $70—as it would prompt industry-wide changes, but analysts consider it unlikely as a higher price could lead to fewer sales. Circana predicted Grand Theft Auto VI and the Nintendo Switch 2 could "rebound" the market with record consumer spending; DFC Intelligence projected sales of 40 million and earnings of $3.2 billion in the first year—doubling Grand Theft Auto V, which had the highest-grossing game launch—including $1 billion in preorders.

Rockstar requested employees cease remote work and return to offices from April 2024 "for productivity and security" in development's "final stages". The Independent Workers' Union of Great Britain (IWGB) criticised Rockstar for contradicting their promise to maintain flexible working conditions; some employees were concerned it could negatively affect staff health and morale and prompt resignations and crunch. Kotaku's Zack Zwiezen reported the decision was partly to avoid a delay, though other journalists and Rockstar's parent company, Take-Two Interactive, said the game remained on schedule for late 2025. The amount of remaining work led employees to expect a delay; in May 2025, the game was delayed to 26 May 2026.

Rockstar fired 31 Rockstar North and three Rockstar Toronto employees on 30 October 2025, citing public discussion and distribution of confidential information. The IWGB accused the company of union busting, stating the employees were attempting to unionise with labour organisers on Discord; they protested outside Rockstar North's Edinburgh office from 31 October and Take-Two's London office from 6 November. On the latter day, Rockstar announced the game was delayed again to 19 November 2026, citing additional polish. Journalists noted the firings did not cause the delay but could lead to missed deadlines; a Rockstar North employee said morale was "at rock bottom". Several fans criticised the delay, with some saying they were losing interest, though others felt it would be worth the wait. Take-Two's stock price dropped by about 10% before starting to rebound. Several companies responded to the news with memes and support, and the Polish politician Witold Tumanowicz joked about the delay in a Sejm session. Analysts expected it would lead to reshuffling in 2026's entertainment calendar, with some publishers rescheduling to take the game's previous second quarter window and others delaying away from its new fourth quarter date to avoid competition.

Promotion

In November 2023, Sam Houser, the president of Rockstar Games, announced the first trailer would release in early December to celebrate the company's 25th anniversary. Within five hours, the announcement on Twitter surpassed two previous posts about the game to become the platform's most-liked gaming-related post, later surpassed by Rockstar's post announcing the trailer's 5 December release date, with 1.8 million likes in 24 hours. Other developers imitated the announcement's formatting to promote their trailers. On 4 December, a low-quality version of the trailer was leaked on Twitter; in response, Rockstar published the official version on YouTube, revealing the title, protagonists, setting, and 2025 release window for the PlayStation 5 and the Xbox Series X and Series S.

The trailer broke the record for most first-day views on a non-music YouTube video within 12 hours, with 46 million, and, within 24 hours, became the third-most-viewed overall, with 93 million, and most-liked game trailer, with 8.9 million. It surpassed the lifetime viewership of Grand Theft Auto V's 2011 reveal trailer within two days, with 101 million views, and became the second-most-viewed game trailer by January 2024, with 168 million, and the second-most-viewed trailer ever by November 2025, with 268 million. Its featured song, Tom Petty's "Love Is a Long Road", saw a near-37,000% increase in Spotify streams, had almost 250,000 searches on Shazam, and ranked second on the worldwide iTunes chart. The trailer spawned fan-created recreations in other video games and mediums, including as a brickfilm and in live-action.