MW Grand Theft Auto VI delay an 'annoyance' but shouldn't damage Take-Two's stock

By Lukas I. Alpert

The company's Rockstar Games unit said it was pushing the release of the next edition of the seminal videogame series until May 2026 to ensure the highest quality

It's the kind of delay that could make videogame fans angry enough to want to go on a crime spree.

Videogame maker Rockstar Games announced Friday that it was delaying the release of its much-anticipated Grand Theft Auto VI until May 2026, saying it wanted to ensure that the game met the high standards for quality that gaming buffs expect.

"With every game we have released, the goal has always been to try and exceed your expectations, and Grand Theft Auto VI is no exception. We hope you understand that we need this extra time to deliver at the level of quality you expect and deserve," the company said in a press release.

The news - which pushes back the release from its originally announced target of late fall 2025 - sent shares in Rockstar's parent company, Take-Two Interactive Software Inc. (TTWO), tumbling around 7% out of the gate.

The selloff comes, however, after the stock closed at a record high on Thursday. It has run up 19.5% in 2025, while the S&P 500 index SPX has lost 3.9%.

It has been more than a decade since Rockstar put out the last version of Grand Theft Auto, which is considered one of the most successful videogame series of all time. The release was expected to be a huge revenue and profit driver for Take-Two.

But analysts urged calm, saying delays of this kind are fairly normal in the videogame world and that this was bothersome rather than truly damaging to Take-Two's stock.

"After taking 10+ years to develop, a 7-month delay is really not that big. It is more of an annoyance," said Jordan Klein of Mizuho Securities USA.

Rushing the game out could have been far worse than a short delay, he said.

"The worst thing for [Take-Two] and its stock would have been if they rushed to release GTA6 for the 2025 holidays, and the game was not fully baked and the Metacritic review would have been bad, crushing the stock and damaging the upside case," he wrote in a note to clients.

Take-Two said it didn't expect the delay to have any real impact on its projected growth targets for 2026 and 2027.

"While we take the movement of our titles seriously and appreciate the vast and deep global anticipation for Grand Theft Auto VI, we remain steadfast in our commitment to excellence. As we continue to release our phenomenal pipeline, we expect to deliver a multi-year period of growth in our business and enhanced value for our shareholders," the company said.

In a note to clients, Baird Equity Research said that the delay being only six months or so doesn't suggest any major problems with the release.

"Typically, we would interpret such commentary to mean refinement of gameplay, fixing some bugs, and/or making some general quality enhancements. While shares will be understandably under pressure given a significant amount of revenue and profit shifting to the next fiscal year, and questions on reasons for the push-back, we do not believe a six-month delay for a game of this scale (already more than a decade in development) means there are necessarily long-term consequences," Baird's note read.

The analyst firm said there could be upside for Take-Two competitor Electronic Arts Inc. $(EA)$, giving it a freer path for the release of the latest edition of its Battlefield series later this year. EA shares were up about 7% in early trading.

-Lukas I. Alpert

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May 02, 2025 10:21 ET (14:21 GMT)

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