‘Grand Theft Auto VI’ Release Set For Fall 2025; Take Two Interactive Stock Slides As Game’s Timing Dents Full-Year Outlook

Grand Theft Auto VI, the latest installment in the mega-selling video game franchise, will be released in fall 2025, parent company Take-Two Interactive has confirmed.

The release news put a narrower range on the release, which had previously been projected to be sometime in calendar 2025. The update came as Take-Two released better-than-expected earnings. Despite the upbeat financials, the GTA news prompted a mild sell-off in the company’s shares because the game’s release will come after fiscal 2025. Due to the timing, the company lowered its full-year forecasts. Shares fell 3% in after-hours trading to around $142.

“We are highly confident that Rockstar Games will deliver an unparalleled entertainment experience, and our expectations for the commercial impact of the title continue to increase,” Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick said.

Grand Theft Auto V has sold more than 200 million units, bringing in billions since its release in 2013. Overall, the franchise is one of the top commercial draws in gaming and in any part of the media and entertainment universe. The first iteration was made for MS-DOS and Windows in 1997 before migrating to other platforms.

Because of the franchise’s longevity, even transactions involving small pieces of the empire carry weight, as was the case recently when Netflix said it had acquired three mobile GTA titles for its burgeoning gaming platform. Backlash from parent groups and government officials to every installment has also been part and parcel with the games themselves. Well over a year ahead of the debut of Grand Theft Auto VI, it has already been the target of social media critics, who fear that the adult-aimed game will be harmful to children who gain access to it.