Gaming | May 18, 2026

Rockstar Games and Take-Two Interactive confirmed last week that Grand Theft Auto VI will release on November 19, 2026, and that pre-orders are not opening today, regardless of what a leaked Best Buy affiliate email suggested otherwise. The clarification came after the email, which appeared to schedule a pre-order campaign beginning May 18, circulated widely online and was corroborated by several industry leakers before being walked back.

Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick has described the November 19 date as final. That it needed reaffirming is itself a reflection of how much anticipation, anxiety, and speculative noise has surrounded a game now running roughly 18 months behind its initial internal schedule.

The Best Buy Leak and What It Actually Showed

The email in question was sent to Best Buy affiliates and appeared to establish a promotional window running from May 18 through May 21, aligned with Take-Two’s scheduled earnings call on May 21. The email was authenticated by Insider Gaming and corroborated by leaker Tom Henderson, who has a credible track record on Rockstar-related reporting.

But Rockstar’s absence from the conversation was telling. Pre-orders for a title of GTA 6’s scale are a coordinated marketing moment, typically accompanied by new trailers, gameplay previews, and a formal announcement. None of those appeared. RockstarINTEL, which tracks the company closely, updated its reporting on May 17 to note that “Rockstar Games won’t be opening GTA 6 pre-orders on Monday,” suggesting the affiliate campaign, real as the email may have been, was either scheduled in error or reflected a plan that has since shifted.

The episode is a good example of how the GTA 6 pre-release period has operated: concrete fragments of real information, stripped of context, circulate and amplify before the picture clears. This has been a recurring pattern since the game’s first trailer dropped in December 2023.

A Game That Has Been Delayed Twice

Grand Theft Auto VI was originally targeting a 2025 release. Rockstar pushed that to May 2026 in early 2025, then in November 2025 moved the date again to November 19, 2026. Zelnick acknowledged in a recent interview that the project is about 18 months behind its first internal target.

He framed the delays in terms familiar from the GTA V era, when Rockstar also extended development against shareholder pressure, and the game went on to generate more than $8 billion in lifetime revenue. “GTA is the most valuable entertainment IP ever created,” Zelnick said, declining to specify total earnings from the franchise but describing them as “a lot.”

Rockstar’s own statement, published on the company’s Newswire on the day the November 19 date was formalized, offered no additional detail beyond the date itself and confirmation that the game would release on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X and S. No PC version has been announced.

The Stakes for Take-Two

The financial weight of the November 19 release on Take-Two’s near-term results is difficult to overstate. The company has been running at a loss throughout the extended development period, and its fiscal guidance has been structured around the assumption that GTA 6 ships on schedule. Take-Two’s earnings call on May 21 will be the next opportunity for investors to hear directly from management about pre-launch preparation, marketing spend, and any updates to revenue projections.

Analysts widely expect the game to post the largest opening week in entertainment history. GTA V’s launch in September 2013 generated $800 million in its first 24 hours, a record at the time. Thirteen years of inflation, a larger installed base, and a longer buildup would, in theory, support a substantially higher opening number.

Whether the game meets those expectations will depend on execution, competition, and the holiday window. November 19 places GTA 6 two weeks before December, in a slot with historically strong consumer spending, but also in a market where several other major titles are expected before year end.

What Comes Next

The absence of official pre-order news today does not mean pre-orders are far off. A November 19 release date with no pre-order capability in May would be unusual for a title of this size. More plausible is that the May 21 earnings call serves as the formal trigger for pre-order announcements, possibly accompanied by a new trailer or updated marketing material.

Rockstar has released two trailers for GTA 6 to date. The first, in December 2023, attracted over 150 million views in its first 24 hours on YouTube. The second, released in May 2025 ahead of the original launch window, provided the first sustained look at gameplay, the Florida-inspired setting, and the dual protagonist structure featuring Lucia and her partner Jason. A third trailer before launch is widely expected, though Rockstar has made no public commitment.

For now, the November 19 date holds. Everything else, including when you can pre-order, is still unconfirmed.

Sources: Grand Theft Auto VI Is Now Set to Launch November 19, 2026 — Rockstar Games Newswire | GTA 6 Pre-Order Date Has Been Leaked Via Best Buy — Insider Gaming | GTA 6 Pre-Orders To Open Next Week According To Best Buy Leak — RockstarINTEL | Take-Two CEO Confirms GTA 6 Release Date Is Locked In — Vice | Take-Two CEO Confirms GTA 6 Release Date, Admitting 18-Month Delay — Notebookcheck | This New Best Buy ‘Leak’ Claims GTA 6 Pre-Orders Begin on May 18 — TechRadar | GTA 6 Pre-Orders Reportedly Opening This Monday — WCCFTech