Did you hear the news? We’re not getting Grand Theft Auto 6 this year after all. In a move that annoyed many, Rockstar Games announced that GTA 6 has been delayed to May 26th, 2026. The studio requires “extra time” to finalize the next GTA, assuring the game launches “at the level of quality you expect and deserve.”
“We are very sorry that this is later than you expected. The interest and excitement surrounding a new Grand Theft Auto has been truly humbling for our entire team,” Rockstar Games wrote this morning. “We want to thank you for your support and your patience as we work to finish the game.”
Already, fans are likely rearranging their schedules to prepare for GTA 6’s release. You know, calling your boss ahead of time about that late May 2026 wedding invitation. Suddenly planning a major family vacation for a year from now. Telling your secretary you “know for sure you’ll be sick at May 26th, 2026, exactly at midnight.” We get the deal. Take any number of these excuses, or all three at once. For example, try this: “Sorry boss, I’m going to have to be sick for a major wedding with my family, exactly on May 26th next year.” That’s the exact excuse I’m going to tell my boss. (Hi Dwayne! See above.)
While GTA 6’s (hopeful) arrival in May 2026 will be an incredible moment for the gaming industry, I do have a word of advice for all indie developers planning on releasing a game next spring or early summer 2026. DO NOT PUBLISH YOUR GAME ON MAY 26TH, 2026. AVOID THIS DATE AT ALL COSTS.
Even if your audience doesn’t play ‘GTA’, it still cares about ‘GTA’
I’m sure you already know this if you’re an experienced indie developer or publisher. Perhaps it’s common sense by now. But there was a time a decade or two ago when, sadly, it was not. At that time, plenty of lovely and wonderful indie devs did not pay attention to the AAA release calendar. They assumed they could publish any old game alongside any major release. They believed they were creating games for an audience completely separate from a blockbuster hit’s audience. And a lot of these indie devs were met with nothing but headaches for it.
So, a decade later, I caution against publishing your game immediately before or after May 26th, 2026. At this point, you should religiously know what AAA games are coming out when. And you should definitely be watching GTA 6’s release date like a hawk, just in case it changes.
GTA is no longer just a game. It is a major cultural event. GTA 6 will easily be the biggest game of the 2020s, the most important one, a defining one that people reminisce about years from now. I’m not saying this to hype up GTA 6 and convince you to buy it. It’s just a matter of fact. GTA is a household name, an institution in the gaming industry. Everyone knows about it. Taylor Swift even mentioned it.
And for those fans of yours that won’t be playing the game? They’ll still be talking about it. They’ll be analyzing it. They’ll be watching what people have to say about it. They’ll be looking at the political issues inside and around it, like how GTA 6 treats women, whether GTA has improved its depiction of trans women and sex workers, or how gamers respond to the first female main character in a 3D singleplayer GTA game. I can tell you right now, gamers will have Thoughts about that last point. There will be endless discourse. Quasimodo predicted all this, as a wise guy once said.
GTA is not a game, but a cultural Happening. Attention will be pulled away to GTA for quite a bit of time. So please, whatever you’re working on, don’t publish it alongside GTA 6. Delay any releases you have planned for May 26th, 2026, and let your audience come to you after (or well before) Grand Theft Auto gets its next installment. You’ll thank me later.
The post Indie Developers, Please Do Not Release Your Game on May 26th, 2026 appeared first on VICE.
