Another delay has struck the most anticipated game of the 2020s – Rockstar Games announced that it has pushed back the release date of Grand Theft Auto VI (colloquially GTA 6) for the second time to November 19, 2026, although it didn’t state the reason beyond allowing itself to further “polish” the game.
Another GTA 6 Delay
Here is the full statement from the makers of GTA 6, regarding its delay:
Hi everyone,
Grand Theft Auto VI will now release on Thursday, November 19, 2026.
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.
We want to thank you again for your patience and support. While the wait is a little longer, we are incredibly excited for players to experience the sprawling state of Leonida and a return to modern day Vice City.
Sincerely,
Rockstar Games
However, recent news surrounding the studio has saw people connecting the dots. Reportedly, Rockstar recently fired 34 employees (31 in UK and 3 in Canada), which the company cited “violation of [its] company policies” alleging that the said staff were found to be “distributing and discussing confidential information in a public forum.” Specifically, it was the fact that workers who intended to unionize has set up a private Discord server with a non-Rockstar employee, who is a union organizer.
Rockstar’s decision was disputed by the UK’s union rights group Independent Workers’ Union of Great Britain (IWGB), alleging that the game developer is engaging in “union busting” behavior. As in, the company has been accused of removing employees who intend to unionize – a way for the workers to leverage as a collective against companies to negotiate for better treatment, such as better pay, benefits, along with various workers’ rights and interests.
While the delay of GTA 6 isn’t directly caused by Rockstar’s mass firing, losing a significant number of high-level employees will certainly slows things down. One such member has took to GTAForums to share their side of the story, stating that the affected employees were in roles like “senior artists, animators, QA testers, designers, programmers and producers,” some of which have leading roles in their departments. They also argued that the Discord server in question never discussed game-related information, only the “unionization efforts and the working conditions at Rockstar.”
With the new release date, that puts us at about one year’s worth of days left before the biggest game launch of the decade will happen, although it should be reminded once again that this only applies to console releases, meaning PlayStation 5 (Pro) and Xbox Series X/S only. PC gamers will have to wait for a separate announcement, which the company has not made one on all of the occasions thus far.
Source: BBC
Pokdepinion: That doesn’t sound good.
