Known insider Tom Henderson “strongly” believes that GTA 6 will be officially announced by Rockstar Games and Take-Two Interactive in 2023. He remains “firm” that Grand Theft Auto 6 will release in 2024 or 2025; however, his bet is on 2025 given that both GTA 5 and Red Dead Redemption 2 were released two years after they were announced. This would mean he believes that Microsoft’s prediction of a 2024 GTA 6 release date is a bit optimistic.
A GTA 6 release date of 2025 makes more sense, Henderson suggests
As part of Henderson’s gaming predictions for 2023, he stands by his earlier report back in 2021 that Grand Theft Auto 6 would release in 2024 or 2025 “despite being flamed from the GTA community” for it:
…I said that GTA 6 will release in either 2024 – 2025, which is a firm date I strongly still believe is happening. A 2023 announcement would line up with these years perfectly, especially if you’re familiar with how Rockstar Games and Take-Two have generally handled their game announcements and releases in the past.
He continues: “Is a release announcement for 2024 possible? Sure. But Rockstar’s track record suggests that the game will be pushed back another year anyway.”
By comparison, Microsoft’s prediction that “the highly anticipated GTA 6 is expected to be released in 2024” was made in its arguments to the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority in favor of the Activision Blizzard deal.
In early November, Take-Two Interactive CEO Strauss Zelnick stated in an earnings call with investors that GTA 6 was not impacted by the Rockstar Games hack. He also stated that he would prefer delays over flops, which is in part why the game’s release date wasn’t revealed in 2022.
