GTA 6 release window is narrowed again after major announcement

No one is doubting just how massive GTA 6 is going to be when Rockstar and Take-Two Interactive finally publish the AAA rated video game.

But it's not the only high-end product being released to the premium gaming market this year. Not by a long shot.

And now, the release date for games that might traditionally rival a Grand Theft Auto title have led to fans believing we will be getting number six very soon.

Set to be released later this year, Grand Theft Auto VI was given a very broad release window by Take-Two with 'Fall 2025' confirmed twice by the company in its last two quarterly updates.

Obviously, the fall/autumn is pretty big chunk of the year, and while a delay is obviously the thing gamers want to avoid the most, a bit of a hint as to when we can expect it across the three month period would be a nice bit of information for Take-Two or Rockstar to give the millions set to spend their hard earned cash on the product. Especially after reports it could cost $100 (around £80) or more.

In the last week it has been confirmed that the huge sequel to Death Stranding, dubbed Death Stranding 2: On the Beach, will finally be released.

And it has put to bed the 'Winter or Bust' mindset that AAA games follow, with it set to be released in the summer on 26 June, 2025.

According to the GTA VI O'Clock newsletter, which is put together by veteran games journalist Dan Dawkins and award-winning executive producer James Jarvis, it is a sign that an autumn release window is 'secretly confirmed' within the industry. Or at the very least, competitors to Rockstar see it as a nailed-on window for the game with whispers of a delay being non-existent or extremely small.

Lucia will be the main protagonist you play as when GTA 6 is finally released (Rockstar)

Well, that autumn window just looked even more certain after Mafia: The Old Country was announced to also be releasing in the summer. Made by 2K, the developer is also a subsidiary of Take-Two.

The parent company seems to have actively avoiding a later, autumn or winter release, and thus stopped any risk of 'cannibalization'.

This is a business strategy where sales of one product released by a company are directly impacted by the same company releasing another new product to the market.

Coming in the autumn? (Rockstar)

"Death Stranding 2 and Mafia: The Old Country launching this summer are great indications that GTA 6 is still releasing this fall, as the industry is clearing the way for it, knowing there’s no competition," the GTA 6 Countdown account over on X (formerly Twitter) posted.

Not everyone is convinced it means anything other than competitors making sure they don't get blown away in case GTA 6 isn't delayed.

"Are people still believing that GTA VI will release this year," one Reddit user posted.

Another X account wrote: "It's so funny how everybody is scared of behemoth Rockstar."

Fans want anything but a delay (CHRIS DELMAS/AFP via Getty Images)

A third posted: "Do you really think Rockstar is telling them about the GTA development progress ? They have no way of knowing when GTA 6 will be released."

Take-Two has also chosen to released Borderlands 4 on 23 September, with many thinking it now means GTA 6 has narrowed to a window of late October to November so that the company's two products don't harm each other.

Whenever it happens, one thing's for certain: it's getting closer...