How did GTA VI get here? Every moment from reveal to release

On 4 February 2022 Rockstar confirmed for the first time that the next Grand Theft Auto was in development, saying in a Newswire community update that 'active development for the next entry in the Grand Theft Auto series is well underway'; it gave no title, setting, platforms or date.

GTA VI took more than eight years to make, Bloomberg reports: Rockstar's leaders first researched Miami in 2015 for a project code-named 'Project Americas', planned at first to span parts of North and South America and later cut down to Miami and its surroundings, and most of the studio moved onto the game after Red Dead Redemption 2 shipped in 2018.

Rockstar released Red Dead Redemption 2's launch trailer on 18 October 2018, eight days before the game's 26 October release.

After Red Dead Redemption 2, Rob Nelson, Phil Hooker and Aaron Garbut each took the title head of development at Rockstar and shared the direction of GTA VI, with Nelson and Garbut as co-heads of Rockstar North; by the end of 2019 they had the skeleton of the story, about Jason Duval and Lucia Caminos.

Rockstar co-founder Dan Houser, the lead writer on most of its games, left in March 2020: Take-Two said on 4 February 2020 that his last day would be 11 March, after an extended break that began in spring 2019. In September 2025 he told IGN that GTA VI is 'not going to be a story that I wrote' and that 'The game will be great, I'm sure.'

On 27 July 2022 Bloomberg reported, from Rockstar staff, that the next Grand Theft Auto would have a playable Latina woman as one of a pair of leads, in a story influenced by Bonnie and Clyde, set in a fictional version of Miami after early plans spanning North and South America were scaled back; Rockstar's first trailer later showed the pair and Vice City.

Over the weekend of 17 and 18 September 2022 more than 90 videos of early GTA VI development footage, taken in a hack of Rockstar, were posted on a fan forum; on 19 September Rockstar confirmed a network intrusion in which early development footage for the next Grand Theft Auto was downloaded, Take-Two reported it in a filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission, and both said work on the game would continue as planned.

Since the September 2022 leak of GTA VI development footage, a fan mapping community has pieced together a map of Leonida, first from in-game coordinates shown in the leaked clips and later also from Rockstar's trailers and screenshots and real Florida geography.

On 8 November 2023, in a message marking Rockstar's 25th anniversary, Sam Houser said Rockstar would release the first trailer for the next Grand Theft Auto in early December.

Rockstar scheduled GTA VI's first trailer for Tuesday 5 December 2023 at 9 a.m. ET, but after a copy leaked on X it released Trailer 1 early, at 3:07 p.m. PT (23:07 UTC) on 4 December 2023, posting 'Our trailer has leaked so please watch the real thing on YouTube'; the trailer and Take-Two's press release named the state of Leonida, home to Vice City, and a 2025 release on PS5 and Xbox Series X|S.

GTA VI's first trailer, released on 4 December 2023, is set to Tom Petty's 1989 song 'Love Is a Long Road', and its second, released on 6 May 2025, to The Pointer Sisters' 1986 'Hot Together'.

Grand Theft Auto VI is set primarily in the state of Leonida, featuring Vice City.

Guinness World Records lists GTA VI's Trailer 1 as the most viewed video game reveal on YouTube in 24 hours, with 90,421,491 views, and notes it set the record despite being released earlier than scheduled because of a leak.

A UK jury found in 2023 that Arion Kurtaj, a member of the Lapsus$ hacking group, carried out the 2022 Rockstar hack that leaked more than 90 GTA VI clips; ruled unfit to stand trial, he was given an indefinite hospital order in December 2023.

Since 2024 Rockstar has required staff to work in the office five days a week, citing security, and GTA VI developers can't reach its servers and tools from outside the office; Jennifer Kolbe told Bloomberg Rockstar will re-examine the rule after launch but doubts it will move to a hybrid model.

Rockstar gave a reason with each GTA VI delay: on 2 May 2025, setting 26 May 2026, it said it needed 'this extra time to deliver at the level of quality you expect and deserve'; on 6 November 2025, moving the game to 19 November 2026, it said the extra months would let it finish the game 'with the level of polish you have come to expect and deserve'.

As of 15 October 2026 Rockstar has published three GTA VI trailers, Trailer 1 (4 December 2023), Trailer 2 (6 May 2025) and the Launch Trailer (15 October 2026), plus the 26-minute Extended Look of 27 August 2026; it titles the newest one "Launch Trailer", not "Trailer 3".

Rockstar told The Hollywood Reporter that GTA VI's Trailer 2, released on 6 May 2025, drew more than 475 million views across platforms in its first 24 hours, and called it the biggest video launch of all time.

Rockstar dismissed 34 staff at the end of October 2025, 31 in the UK and three in Canada; Take-Two said they were dismissed 'for gross misconduct, and for no other reason'.

The IWGB says Rockstar dismissed 31 of its members for union activity, which it calls union busting, and by 12 November 2025 it had issued legal claims against Rockstar alleging trade-union victimisation and blacklisting.

Take-Two said the November 2025 GTA VI delay and Rockstar's dismissal of some 30 to 40 UK staff the week before were 'entirely separate', and its CEO said Rockstar believed 'a limited amount of additional time is required for polish'; reporters at Bloomberg and Insider Gaming, citing their own sources, also said the dismissals did not cause the delay.

At Prime Minister's Questions on 10 December 2025, Keir Starmer called the Rockstar dismissals 'a deeply concerning case' and said ministers would look into it; in May 2026 three Edinburgh MPs called on Rockstar to act transparently and give the dismissed staff a right of appeal.

On 12 January 2026 the employment tribunal in Glasgow refused the dismissed staff's application for interim relief; Rockstar welcomed the decision, and the IWGB called it disappointing but said its case was undamaged.

In April 2026 Rockstar confirmed that 'a limited amount of non-material company information' was accessed in a third-party data breach, with 'no impact on our organization or our players', after the hacking group ShinyHunters said it had reached Rockstar's cloud data through Anodot, a cloud-cost analytics tool, and demanded a ransom.

Rockstar staff launched the Rockstar Game Workers Union, part of the IWGB, on 28 May 2026, with members at Rockstar's studios in Edinburgh, London, Leeds, Lincoln and Dundee and three first aims: pay transparency, flexible working and an end to crunch.

Rockstar has announced that Grand Theft Auto VI pre-orders open on 25 June 2026.

Grand Theft Auto VI costs $79.99 in the US, and the Grand Theft Auto VI: Ultimate Edition costs $99.99, as announced by Take-Two and Rockstar Games on 24 June 2026.

Rockstar Games and Take-Two described Grand Theft Auto VI as a single-player experience in their 24 June 2026 pre-order announcements.

Rockstar and Take-Two describe the physical version of Grand Theft Auto VI as containing a download code inside the box, available from 12 November 2026.

Before the Extended Look, Rockstar North held hands-off GTA VI previews in Edinburgh, in July 2026, for press and a few creators, including TGG, El Rubius, Davy Jones and MikeShowSha, with Rob Nelson playing; coverage was embargoed until the Extended Look on 27 August.

On Take-Two's 7 August 2026 earnings call, CEO Strauss Zelnick called GTA VI's pre-order sales 'unprecedented', 'astonishing' and 'astronomical' and declined to give unit figures.

From 18 August 2026 an anonymous person or group called CyberLeek posted GTA VI gameplay clips from a playable build and used them to promote a cryptocurrency token; it went quiet after more than $200,000 of the token's earnings were withdrawn on 27 August, posted a 25-minute video on 8 October, and on 14 October said it would stop, with no playable build: 'The leeks stop here. For now.'

From mid-August 2026 an anonymous group posted unreleased Grand Theft Auto VI material online, including images presented as the full map; Take-Two responded with DMCA takedowns and, on 20 August 2026, a subpoena in the Southern District of New York seeking identifying records from Microsoft and Discord.

On 26 August 2026 Rockstar acknowledged the August leak in an Instagram statement, calling the leaked videos of GTA VI gameplay 'heartbreaking for our team' and saying spoilers may affect the intended experience.

Rockstar published "Grand Theft Auto VI: An Extended Look" on 27 August 2026, premiering it on Netflix at 3 p.m. ET and releasing it on its official YouTube channel and the GTA VI site at 9 p.m. ET, and states it was captured entirely from in-game footage on PlayStation 5.

Grand Theft Auto VI: An Extended Look was Netflix's most-watched film worldwide in the week of 24 to 30 August 2026, with 31.1 million views.

Sony has licensed two Grand Theft Auto VI DualSense Wireless Controllers -- a Black Limited Edition and a White Limited Edition -- priced at $84.99 / €84.99 / £74.99 / ¥12,480, with preorders open since 10 September 2026 and both launching 19 November 2026, the same day as Grand Theft Auto VI.

On 3 September 2026, Miami-Dade County Commissioner Juan Carlos Bermudez and Miami-Dade Sheriff Rosie Cordero-Stutz publicly called on the county to reject the use of county resources and facilities to promote Grand Theft Auto VI.

The final hearing of the dismissed staff's case opened in Glasgow on 10 September 2026 and was due to end on 16 October; on 13 October it was extended, with closing submissions set for 17 and 18 November 2026, and no judgment has been given.

On 10 September 2026 Miami Beach's city commission voted 4-3 to let the city manager negotiate and sign a GTA VI marketing agreement with Amplify Marketing Inc.: "VI" branding on beach chairs and umbrellas in a window from 15 October to 31 December 2026, none on lifeguard stands or during Art Basel, for an expected $2 million to $4 million. On 12 October a city official told reporter Joel Franco the agreement had not been signed, and that 15 October would most likely not be the start date. On 14 October Franco filmed the branded "VI" umbrellas stored on South Beach, and a worker told him they were due to go up that weekend; on 19 October Vice reported hundreds of branded umbrellas and chairs across Miami Beach.

On 15 September 2026, multiple major recording artists -- including Travis Scott, Future, Metro Boomin, Yung Lean, Morgan Wallen, Keith Richards, Rauw Alejandro, and CA7RIEL & Paco Amoroso -- published Grand Theft Auto VI-styled visuals on social media within the same day, with Travis Scott's post explicitly tagging Rockstar Games; no artist's specific in-game or soundtrack role was confirmed by either the artists or Rockstar at the time of posting.

On 17 September 2026, Rockstar officially announced Grand Theft Auto VI: The Album, a 34-track original album produced with Atlantic Records and launching alongside the game on 19 November 2026; six of the 34 tracks were released at announcement, credited to Travis Scott; Yung Lean featuring Future and Metro Boomin; CA7RIEL & Paco Amoroso featuring PinkPantheress, Fred again.. and Etienne de Crecy; Morgan Wallen; Rauw Alejandro; and Keith Richards. The remaining 28 tracks are undisclosed.

At Take-Two Interactive's annual stockholders meeting on 17 September 2026, CEO Strauss Zelnick described Grand Theft Auto VI as launching as a single-player experience, and said Take-Two will continue to support the existing GTA Online.

At Tokyo Game Show 2026 (17-21 September), Sony's PlayStation booth ran a 'Grand Theft Auto VI: An Extended Look' theatre showing the August video on a 300-inch screen with floor haptics, and gave viewers a GTA VI PlayStation T-shirt.

Miami-Dade County signed a marketing deal with Rockstar Games, worth about $975,000, for a "Welcome to Vice City" sign on the roof of the county-owned Kaseya Center; Mayor Daniella Levine Cava approved it without a commission vote because it was under $1 million, and the sign was installed on 22 September 2026.

Rockstar Games is selling Grand Theft Auto VI: The Goodtime State – Vice City Collection, a limited Collector's Box of merchandise that ships from 19 November 2026 and does not include the game.

Xbox's Chief Strategy Officer Matthew Ball said on 24 September 2026 that GTA VI is breaking pre-order records for Xbox and that Xbox's share of pre-orders matches its share of the console market; he gave no figures.

Game Informer's issue 382 carries a 14-page Grand Theft Auto VI cover story built on interviews with Rockstar's leads, with 12 new screenshots and Rockstar-supplied cover art; it went live digitally on 29 September 2026, and Rockstar partnered with Game Informer to make it free in the magazine's app.

Rockstar says Leonida is its largest map, roughly twice the size of GTA V's, and denser and more detailed, with more interiors.

Around 1 October 2026 a large GTA VI mural began going up at Wythe Avenue and North 11th Street in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, showing the Grand Theft Auto logo with Jason and Lucia and palm trees, at the corner reportedly used for GTA V's mural in 2013.

The Miami Heat and Rockstar Games announced a partnership for GTA VI's launch: on 18 November 2026 the Heat play the Milwaukee Bucks as "Vice City", on a special court and in a new uniform, televised on ESPN; the "Welcome to Vice City" sign on the Kaseya Center roof was lit on 1 October, and a Vice City clothing collection went on sale on 2 October.

LOVE Magazine's Issue 27, on sale 5 October 2026, carries a GTA VI feature with new cover art of Jason and Lucia, four new screenshots and interviews with Rockstar North's Rob Nelson, narrative SVP Rupert Humphries and writers Elizabeth Gauvey-Kern and Alexa D'Agostino.

Xbox's Chief Strategy Officer Matthew Ball said on 7 October 2026 that Grand Theft Auto VI launches on Xbox on 19 November but will not stream exclusively or stream to PC.

On 8 October 2026 Rockstar revealed six of Grand Theft Auto VI's in-game radio stations: Cocoteo FM (modern Latin, hosted by El Martillo and La Gata), Back Country Radio (renegade country, MW and Delta Dawne), AfroBank FM (African music, Burna and Palmsy), The Chamber 106.6 (metal, DJ Kerry and DJ Tom), Flash FM (pop, Robyn and Alex) and Dirty South Classics (regional rap and hip-hop, Trick and Trina).

Rockstar opened the Grand Theft Auto VI Collection, a range of apparel and collectibles it says is "exclusively available" at the Rockstar Store, on 8 October 2026, and said more would be added.

Goodyear's airship Wingfoot Three (registration N3A) carries a Grand Theft Auto VI livery, with 'Vice City' lettering along its sides and the game's 'VI' logo near its nose, and it flew in that livery from Goodyear's Wingfoot Lake base in Ohio on 12 October 2026.

On 13 October 2026 Wynwood Walls, Miami's outdoor street-art museum, made entry free for Miami-Dade County residents through 2028, in a presenting partnership with Rockstar Games timed to GTA VI's release.

To launch the partnership, Wynwood Walls and Rockstar unveiled ten murals of original artwork commissioned for GTA VI, by ATOMIK, Tatiana Suarez, Askew One, DENIAL, FAILE, Gons and Audet, Lady AIKO, Queen Andrea, Ron English and Tristan Eaton, on show until 1 January 2027: Eaton's on the Wynwood Walls campus and the other nine around the Wynwood neighbourhood.

Looking back, Rockstar's leaders told Bloomberg that GTA VI's two delays had no single dramatic cause: parts of the game weren't coming together fast enough, including the non-player characters, whose projected workload Rob Nelson called 'horrifying' and which led Rockstar to build a Los Angeles studio just to create them; Phil Hooker said 'We could hit that schedule, but it won't be the game we want to make.'

On 15 October 2026 Rockstar released the Grand Theft Auto VI Launch Trailer, a 90-second video, on its YouTube channel, X account, Newswire and GTA VI site; Rockstar says it was captured entirely in-game from a PlayStation 5, and it restates the 19 November 2026 release on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S.

Rockstar says the electronic duo Justice composed Grand Theft Auto VI's original score; its Launch Trailer debuted Justice's new single "Flower in a Hurricane", featuring Tame Impala, SZA and King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard, which is also on Grand Theft Auto VI: The Album.

As of 21 October 2026 there are no Grand Theft Auto VI reviews, and Rockstar hasn't announced when the review embargo lifts.

Rockstar says GTA VI's physical version contains a download code and no disc; digital pre-loading starts at local midnight on 12 November 2026, physical copies arrive from 12 November so their codes can pre-load too, PlayStation codes only work on accounts in the matching region group, and Xbox codes are not region-locked.

The Miami Heat's official A Night in Vice City page sets tip-off for 7 p.m. Eastern on 18 November 2026, with the game on ESPN, WPLG Local 10 and 104.3 WQAM; says the Heat play on a special court for "one night only" and in "a new, completely reimagined uniform", which as of 3 October 2026 had not been shown, with no date given for the reveal and no word on whether it will be sold; and says special activities inside the Kaseya Center start on Opening Night, the Heat's home opener on 21 October 2026.

The PlayStation and Xbox store listings unlock GTA VI at midnight local time on 19 November 2026 in each store region, starting in New Zealand at 11:00 UTC on 18 November and ending in Mexico 19 hours later; countries with several time zones use one national store time, so US players on the West Coast can start at 9 p.m. Pacific on 18 November.

Grand Theft Auto VI is officially scheduled to release on 19 November 2026.

The Game Awards 2026 take place on 10 December 2026, and a game must be on sale by 20 November 2026 at 9 p.m. PT to be eligible, so GTA VI, due on 19 November, qualifies by date; most nominees are chosen by a jury of over 100 outlets.

Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick said in May 2026 that Rockstar has 'a very low attrition rate', that 'we have a lot of work to do after the launch of GTA 6' and that he expects no change in the team's composition; in August he said Rockstar's attrition rate is half of Take-Two's, which is half the industry's.