Rockstar started pre-production on GTA 6 around 2014, shortly after GTA V launched on PS4 and Xbox One. Full development began in earnest after Red Dead Redemption 2 shipped in October 2018. That schedule matches the company’s usual pattern: one massive title at a time, with the next project ramping up as the current one wraps.
By 2020, development was deep enough that Bloomberg reported the game would feature the series’ first female lead character, Lucia, alongside a male protagonist named Jason. Rockstar officially confirmed the game existed in February 2022, when Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick stated the company was “well underway” on the next GTA title. The first trailer dropped December 4, 2023, and the second on May 6, 2025.
So the honest timeline: early concepts and engine work began in 2014, full production kicked off after RDR2’s release, and the game reached its final form over the following years. GTA 6 launches November 19, 2026 on PS5 and Xbox Series X|S, digital only. A PC version remains unannounced.