Rockstar’s long-awaited sequel is still not content complete, with the developers of GTA 6 apparently unsure about whether it’ll be out this year or not.
After two major delays the obvious problem with GTA 6’s new release date, of November 19, is that there’s no guarantee it’ll keep that, anymore than it did the others.
Rockstar games do usually have at least two delays, so you’d hope they’ve filled their quota by now, but according to Bloomberg’s Jason Schreier the game is not yet content complete. That means that Rockstar still hasn’t finalised everything that is due to go into the game, implying they also haven’t started the polishing phase of development.
A game the size and complexity of GTA 6 would need around a year of polishing, just as Zelda: Tears Of The Kingdom did, and if it’s not started that process yet then that means another delay becomes a real possibility.
Schreier, who is widely considered the most reliable insider in gaming, was speaking as part of the Button Mash podcast on Spotify, when the discussion turned to GTA 6.
‘This is how Rockstar works,’ he said, in relation to Red Dead Redemption 2 and its multiple delays.
‘I wouldn’t be super shocked if that is what happens again. This time around, this is a big and complicated game and the last I heard it was still not content complete. That is to say that people were still finishing things up, still finalising levels and missions, and seeing what is going to make it into the game.’
For a game of GTA 6’s size, that does not sound like the sort of state you’d expect it to be in less than a year out from release.
As Schrier points out, every game is different, but generally content complete is a specific stage in development, that comes before final fixing and polishing, even though small additions and changes to the design can be made after that.
‘I don’t think anyone at Rockstar can tell you, with 100% certainty, that they will make it out in November,’ said Schrier.
According to him, the current November date does feel ‘a little more solid’ than the previous ones but he also points out that if the game were delayed until 2027, as long as it came out before the end of Take-Two’s financial year, on March 31, it wouldn’t cause any major financial problems.
This is one situation where no rumour can be 100% accurate, simply because Rockstar, and owners Take-Two, don’t know themselves whether the game is going to make it.
Given their previous conduct, they’re unlikely to give any hint either, until the last minute, although if it starts to get close to November and there’s still no sign of a new trailer or any other details then there’s every reason to worry.
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From Rockstar’s point of view, it doesn’t matter when the game launches, as it will sell just as well at any time of year. According to Schrier, what’s more important to them is that the game lives up to expectations, although the longer it take to arrive the more unreasonable those expectations become…
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