Posted 11 hours ago11 hr comment_12866 Shares in video game giant Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. (Nasdaq: TTWO) are plummeting in early morning trading today after the company’s subsidiary, Rockstar Games, announced that it is delaying the release of its next flagship title, Grand Theft Auto VI, from fall 2025 until May 2026. Here’s what you need to know about the delay and how investors are reacting. Grand Theft Auto VI delayed until May 2026 In December 2023, Rockstar announced that GTA6—perhaps the most anticipated game of all time—would launch in the fall of 2025. Now, the studio has announced the game’s release is being pushed back until May 26, 2026. Rockstar’s announcement was brief. In a short statement posted on its website, Rockstar apologized for the delay, suggesting that quality issues with GTA6 were the main driver for the later-than-planned release. “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,” the company said. “We hope you understand that we need this extra time to deliver at the level of quality you expect and deserve.” It’s hard to understate the impact Rockstar Games and, in particular, its Grand Theft Auto franchise have had on the video game industry—especially the open-world genre, which allows players to roam nearly anywhere they want in a game’s virtual world. The Grand Theft Auto series began in 1997 as a 2D game, but the release of Grand Theft Auto III in 2001 and Grand Theft Auto: Vice City in 2002, with their 3D worlds, catapulted the franchise to its iconic status in the industry. Rockstar released the most recent version of the Grand Theft Auto franchise, Grand Theft Auto V, in 2013. It has since sold over 200 million copies and is the second-best-selling video game ever after Microsoft’s Minecraft. Rockstar has not released a video game since 2018’s Red Dead Redemption 2, an open-world game set in the Wild West. So when the studio announced another sequel to the Grand Theft Auto franchise in late 2023, investors in Rockstar’s owner, Take-Two Interactive Software, saw the game as a major driver of profits in 2025. That’s why it’s unsurprising that Take-Two Interactive Software’s stock price is now falling. TTWO shares take a GTA6 beating As of this writing, the price of shares in Take-Two Interactive Software is down around 7% to $218.49 per share. However, that 7% dip signifies a bit of a recovery since markets opened this morning. Shares had been trading down around 9% earlier in the day. Despite Rockstar Games issuing a public announcement about GTA6’s delay, Take-Two Interactive Software decided to as well. In a press release, Take-Two Interactive’s CEO Strauss Zelnick, said, “We support fully Rockstar Games taking additional time to realize their creative vision for Grand Theft Auto VI, which promises to be a groundbreaking, blockbuster entertainment experience that exceeds audience expectations.” He continued: “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.” Take-Two Interactive also said that it was reiterating that it would still “achieve sequential increases in, and record levels of, Net Bookings in Fiscal 2026 and 2027.” Grand Theft Auto VI was originally set to be released during Take-Two Interactive’s fiscal year 2026. Now with the game’s delay to late May 2026, Grand Theft Auto VI won’t impact Take-Two Interactive’s numbers until the company’s fiscal year 2027, and it appears investors are punishing the company for that in early morning trading today. Despite today’s GTA6-fueled drop, TTWO shares are still up a respectable amount since the year began—they’ve climbed by about 17.5% since January. Shares in the company are also up a very healthy 51% over the past 12 months. Take-Two Interactive Software also confirmed today that it will announce its Q4 results for fiscal year 2025 on May 15. View the full article
