Publisher Jokes, Concern, and a Lot of Memes — the Internet Reacts to the GTA 6 Delay

GTA 6 is delayed again, this time from May to November 2026. Perhaps we should have seen it coming. After all, aren’t all Rockstar games delayed multiple times before they eventually come out and break sales records?

We’ve got plenty of coverage on the delay already, including comments from Take-Two boss Strauss Zelnick, who told IGN in an interview he was “highly confident” in the new release date (I’m sure he’s said that before?). And, if you need a reminder, here’s a whopping 89 details from GTA 6 Trailer 2.

But how has the internet reacted to the GTA 6 delay? Fans are, as you’d expect, in tatters. And spare a thought for PC gamers, who now face the prospect of having to wait to play GTA 6 in 2027 at the earliest. But video game publishers — some, publicly at least — are having fun with it, while some are expressing concern for any game that might have earmarked a fall 2026 release window. And then there are the memes. Lots of memes.

Let’s start with Cyberpunk 2077 developer CD Projekt, which took the opportunity to remind everyone that it once promised no more delays to Cyberpunk 2077, and look how that turned out when its sci-fi action RPG came out in December 2020. What CDPR is saying here is trust in Rockstar to deliver — it’s better to delay the game and ensure it’s great than launch it when it isn’t ready.

https://twitter.com/CyberpunkGame/status/1986547061886427406?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

Hotline Miami and Cult of the Lamb publisher Devolver Digital, meanwhile, continued the bit by continuing to promise (threat?) to release a game on the same day GTA 6 comes out. Now it’s moved whatever game it had in mind to GTA 6’s new release date: November 19, 2026. Devolver won’t — can’t at this point — stop. It even cheekily asked Rockstar if it needed help getting GTA 6 out the door, tweeting: “DO YOU NEED A PUBLISHER TO GET THIS THING BACK ON TRACK? DMs are open. Our work on @BALLxPIT speaks for itself.” Those scamps!

https://twitter.com/devolverdigital/status/1986545399910289732?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

Speaking more seriously, Christofer Sundberg, founder of Liquid Swords and former boss of Just Cause developer Avalanche, called the delay “a gravitational shift.” He continued: “When giants move, the ground shakes. That’s not competition. That’s opportunity.”

This is a comment about how publishers will be left scrambling to adjust their own release dates in the wake of GTA 6 moving from May to November. Some may be able to hit May or thereabouts now GTA 6 has moved out of that window. Others already locked into fall 2026 may now be set for crisis talks. Will next year’s Call of Duty be okay, for example? COD usually launches in November, so we’re potentially set for a GTA 6 vs Call of Duty showdown in 2026. I know what my money’s on.

But the delay may even impact games set to launch in 2027. John “Bucky” Buckley, Communications Director and Publishing Manager at Palworld developer Pocketpair, took to X / Twitter to say “expect to see many games (especially AAA ones) swerve to avoid the 2027 awards season,” now GTA 6 is set for a November 19 launch, which puts Rockstar’s game outside the nominaton window for most game awards in 2026. “Intentional or…?🤔” Bucky wondered.

https://twitter.com/LEGODCGame/status/1986559358096830883?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

And then there are the memes. So many memes! Too many, of course, to fit into a single article, but I would like to highlight a BBC Sport Live Report journalist who, while covering last night’s round of soccer matches, dropped in the news of the GTA 6 delay.

https://twitter.com/The_Forty_Four/status/1986566640075485391?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

Even Guinness World Records took a shot.

https://twitter.com/GWR/status/1986548854389432512?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

There are now 376 days until GTA 6 comes out, with fans having to wait another half a year for what is expected to be the biggest entertainment launch of all time. What to do in the meantime? Play other games! And there are many to choose from. Hell, even GTA 5 is returning to PS Plus.

Wesley is Director, News at IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.