Official marketing for GTA VI set to take off this summer

9 February 2026

With the official release for GTA VI planned for November 19th of this current year, you can be sure that more and more eyes in the international esports world will be on Rockstar as the date approaches. The launch of the newest instalment of the GTA franchise has been hotly anticipated for years now and the last thing fans want is another postponement.
According to publisher Take-Two, people do not need to worry about any of that. During their most recent quarterly presentation, the company once again confirmed that development of the game was on schedule and that November 19th is still the date of the official release. Take-Two reinforced that statement by mentioning that official marketing for GTA is set to begin this summer.

It’s happening

Due to multiple delays of GTA VI’s development in the past few years, fans and players have become rather cynical when it comes to promises from studio Rockstar and Take-Two. The hope and desire for a new GTA instalment remain as strong as ever though, and the latest information to come out of Take-Two’s Q3 2025 earnings results have been very encouraging in that sense. Not even as a result of Take-Two’s confirmation that development of GTA VI is going well, but thanks to a mention in the report of the game’s marketing set to take off this summer.

"Our execution throughout Fiscal 2026 has been extraordinary and we are highly confident as we approach Fiscal 2027 – which promises to be groundbreaking for Take-Two and the entire entertainment industry – led by the November 19th release of Grand Theft Auto VI with Rockstar’s launch marketing set to begin this Summer”, writes Take-Two.

Final stretch

After more than thirteen years since the release of the last GTA game (GTA V, which is still being played today and has sold over 225 million copies), it looks like the next adventure is finally coming. Take-Two’s recent report and the follow-up comments by their CEO have confirmed that and more importantly, there was no talk of any kind of delay. On the contrary, it looks like the development is in the final stretch and confidence is sky high.

"I feel good about it”, says Strauss Zelnick, CEO at Take-Two, “Very good about it. Of course, because any time you're getting closer to marketing beats, you're obviously in a place where your confidence level is as high as it can be."

Charlie Kirk mission taken down

Recently, developer Rockstar Games also had a controversy to deal with, as user-created content from GTA Online featured a depiction of the assassination of Charlie Kirk. In December 2025, a feature was launched that allows players to create their own missions, which can then be played by others as well. Following the feature’s release, a few missions appeared in which the objective was to assassinate Charlie Kirk in very similar fashion to what happened to the political activist in real life. In a rare move, Rockstar decided to take that mission down and at this moment, neither Rockstar nor its parent company Take-Two Interactive have officially commented on the decision.