About

Grand Theft Auto VI, also known under its working title Project Americas and GTA 6, is an upcoming open-world action video game set in the Grand Theft Auto universe developed by Rockstar Games. The development of the game has been a subject of rumors since the release of the previous installment in the series, GTA 5, and was confirmed to be in development in February 2022. The game was expected to launch in 2025, but was delayed to May 26th, 2026.

History

Grand Theft Auto VI, the eighth major installment in the Grand Theft Auto franchise, has been rumored to be in development by Rockstar Games since mid-2010, with the number of rumors and alleged leaks increasing significantly in the late 2010s and early 2020s.^[1][2][3] A July 1st, 2019, leak revealed the game's working title, Project Americas.^[4]

On April 15th, 2020, the video game news website Kotaku^[5] reported that the game was still "very early in development."

On February 4th, 2022, Rockstar Games officially confirmed that the game is being developed and is "well underway."^[6] On July 27th, 2022, Bloomberg^[7] reported several details of the upcoming game, including one of two leading characters being a Latina woman, the protagonist duo drawing inspiration from Bonnie and Clyde, the game being set in a fictional version of Miami and its surrounding areas (purportedly Vice City from 2002's Grand Theft Auto Vice City), and the map of the game evolving over time as new cities get added.

Trailer

On November 8th, 2023, Rockstar Games announced^[16] that the first trailer for the game will premiere in early December 2023, with the premiere coinciding with the company's 25th anniversary.

On December 1st, 2023, Rockstar Games announced^[17] that the trailer will premiere on December 5th at 9AM EST. On December 4th, 2023, the countdown for the trailer's premier began on YouTube.^[18]

On December 4th, 2023, approximately 15 hours ahead of the planned premiere, the trailer was leaked. Immediately following the leak, the trailer premiered on YouTube^[22] (shown below), revealing the 2025 release date.

Leaked Footage

On December 2nd, TikTok user @azzarossi leaked a 13-second-recoding of a computer screen showing footage of Grand Theft Auto VI The leak was allegedly made by either the son or a friend of the son of Aaron Garbut, the head of development and co-studio head at Rockstar North.^[19][20]

May 2026 Delay

On May 2nd, 2025, Rockstar^[23] announced that Grand Theft Auto VI is now set to release on May 26th, 2026. According to Eurogamer,^[24] GTA 6's publisher insisted in November 2024 that "the game would arrive in autumn 2025." Rockstar wrote in the statement, shared via X / Twitter, "We are very sorry that this is later than you expected. The interest and excitement surrounding a new Grand Theft Auto has been truly humbling for our entire team. We want to thank you for your support and your patience as we work to finish the game." The post^[25] (seen below) amassed more than 16 million views and 281,000 likes in a few hours.

Fandom

GTA 6 Trending / GTA 6 Anticipation Memes

In the early 2020s, "GTA 6" trended on Twitter on multiple occasions, primarily due to supposed leaks. As "GTA 6" trending without any substantial news became a common occurrence, users on Twitter frequently posted memes about it. For example, on November 19th, 2020, Twitter^[8] user @quanisfunny posted a Clown meme that gained over 800 retweets and 7,300 upvotes in two years (shown below, left).

The long gap between the release of Grand Theft Auto V and the expected release of Grand Theft Auto VI spawned memes about gamers growing old by the time the game is finally out. For example, on February 5th, 2021, Twitter^[9] user @BlarginBadibble posted a meme that gained over 5,100 retweets and 29,000 likes in one year (shown below, center).

Sernando's "GTA 6" Fake Unboxing Video

On April 1st, 2017, YouTuber^[10] Sernando posted a clickbait video in which he unboxed a fake copy of Grand Theft Auto 6. The video has been brought up in multiple jokes about the game in the following years (examples shown below, left and right).^[11][12]

"GTA 6 Leaked Gameplay" Memes

As Grand Theft Auto 6 is expected to be a next-gen (8th console generation) game and have realistic graphics, memes humorously claiming that real-life footage of altercations, car crashes and police chases are actually GTA 6 footage were posted on social media.^[13][14] For example, on May 22, 2020, Twitter^[15] user @DBLTAPesports posted a video of a police chase, writing, "Leaked GTA 6 gameplay." The tweet gained over 8,100 retweets and 30,600 likes in two years (shown below).

Leaked GTA 6 gameplay 👀 pic.twitter.com/vakVo2trjd

— DBLTAP Gaming (@DBLTAPesports) May 22, 2020

GTA VI Leaks

GTA VI Leaks or 2022 Grand Theft Auto VI Leak refers to the unauthorized release of 90 video clips of the still-in-development GTA VI video game via the GTAForums site in mid-September 2022. The leaked footage, purportedly depicting gameplay, plot lines and graphics from the new Rockstar game, rapidly spread around the internet, inspiring memes and discussions on social media in the following days.

In December 2023, following a TikTok leak of Grand Theft Auto VI footage, the game trended on X, with multiple users posting memes about the leaker, who was assumed to be the son of a Rockstar North employee (example^[21] shown below).

Aaron Garbut after finding out that his son leaked/provided his friends with confidential GTA 6 Footage pic.twitter.com/3gx25YaX1o

— NikTek (@NikTekOfficial) December 2, 2023

Search Interest

External References