GTA 6 release date ‘mapped out’ after September decision is taken

A Grand Theft Auto VI release date is more set in stone than Take-Two Interactive are telling us. Or, at least, that's what fans of the GTA franchise are claiming after 'mapping out' when the game will be available.

Parent company Take-Two confirmed last week that GTA 6 will still be going to market in the autumn of 2025, with gamers everywhere breathed a sigh of relief at the lack of a delay to 2026.

And with all eyes now on September, October, or November, those preparing to buy the game reckon the window of opportunity to release it has narrowed down significantly, with September out of the question.

So, why no September for GTA 6?

It is because Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick confirmed to IGN that the business will not act in a way that brings about 'cannibalization'. This is a marketing strategy whereby one sales of one product released by a company are directly impacted by the same company releasing another new product to the market.

In this case, we're talking about Borderlands 4, developed by Take-Two subsidiary Gearbox Software and published by fellow subsidiary 2K.

For Take-Two, the business obviously has a big, soft spot for GTA and Rockstar. But it is by no means its only slice of the gaming pie, with Zelnick saying the business will 'respect the consumer's need to spend a lot of time playing these hit games before they go on to the next'.

In other words, with Borderlands 4 confirmed for a 23 September release date on PS5, Xbox Series X/S and PC, don't expect GTA beforehand or even in the weeks after. Many fans believe it could see the GTA 6 release pushed as far back as the start of December; a prime time spot for the festive market.

Straus Zelnick has said Take-Two releases will be 'planned' to avoid competing against each other (Steven Ferdman/Getty Images)

'We will plan the releases'

"I think we will plan the releases so as not to have that be a problem,” Zelnick said on cannibalization worries.

“And what we found is when you're giving consumers hits, they tend to be interested in pursuing other hits. In other words, I've said this many times, even when the hits aren't ours, they're a good thing for the industry.

"In this case, we hope that the hits will largely be ours. So we feel really good about it and I think that we will time our releases so as to respect the consumer's need to spend a lot of time playing these hit games before they go on to the next.”

GTA 6 will be released in the autumn of 2025 (Rockstar)

Mapping the release

Over on Reddit, one fan 'mapped out' the potential release date. Sharing it in the GTA6 subreddit, they said: "Now that we know Borderlands 4 is releasing on September 23rd, I’m confident that Rockstar will release GTA 6 anywhere from the 17th of October to the 15th of November.

"The reason is because this is before the holidays (Thanksgiving and Christmas). This release window is also far enough away from Borderlands 4 as it won’t be able to clash with that game’s release. As for the 16th to the 22nd of November, the game could still release during this time as it’s still before the holidays but I’m not as confident about it since it’s the literal week before."

Responding, another said they thought the game could be released on either 18 November or 2 December, with it giving Rockstar enough time to 'polish the game and get it ready for release' if there is indeed a rush to get it completed in time for the public.

On 18 November, they added that it is the same week as Black Friday.

Going after the public's extra cash when they're gearing up to spend it anyway? Not a bad idea.