“Sort of expected with Rockstar’s track record”: GTA 6 Reportedly at Risk of Falling Behind Development and a Delay is Likely

Ever since GTA 6’s first trailer took the world by storm, fans have been eagerly waiting to hear more about the game’s details, especially how the development/production of the game has been. In the last few years, endless leaks have suggested that the game’s development cycle has gone through multiple experiments, changes, and so on.

However, based on some new information, it seems that the final stages of development for the game are falling short of expectations for Rockstar Games. Based on these reports, the studio behind the much-awaited Grand Theft Auto sequel is doing its best to bring out the game in time, but the release window might just get pushed to 2026.

According to a report by Kotaku recently, the development team at Rockstar Games is struggling with the final stages of production for GTA 6. Things aren’t going as planned, and there’s a chance we might get our hands on the game in 2026, instead of 2025.

However, this should also be taken with a grain of salt as the article largely focuses on a Bloomberg report on the same, and reshuffles some key points into making things sound like it’s something else.

Sort of expected, with Rockstars track record. We’ve waited all this time for the game, id hate for it to be rushed out in the end

— Craig (@CS11__) March 22, 2024

The Bloomberg report suggests that Rockstar employees are now returning to the office to work 5 days a week, instead of the usual WFH/Hybrid model of working. Tom Henderson’s recent tweet highlights the same.

I’m not even sure what to make of the Kotaku article on GTA 6… No info is new and it seems to be just trying to stir the pot based on Bloomberg’s reporting.

— Tom Henderson (@_Tom_Henderson_) March 22, 2024

Rather than assuming things and making up facts, it’s best to believe that yes, GTA 6 may be in a spot of heavy development as it approaches the end of its production cycle, but that may indicate very little about any massive change in the company’s work culture.

To those who have been following the studio’s development cycles and work ethics for some time, this may hardly come as news. The studio has been known for heavy crunch times in the development teams, especially towards the end of a game’s development/production cycle.

In the case of Red Dead Redemption 2 and GTA 5, this wasn’t a fact floating in secrecy and came out to the public soon enough. This hasn’t painted Rockstar Games in the nicest colors and makes fans question the cost at which ‘perfection‘ with these open-world titles comes.

If the reports are indeed stating facts, GTA 6 will become another example of Rockstar’s end-of-cycle crunch times which are never a good thing for the employees’ physical and mental health. Hopefully, even with the work pressure, the organization wouldn’t have to sacrifice anyone’s health for the sake of perfection.

What do you think about GTA 6’s possible delay and the heavy development crunch times? Let us know in the comments below.