Rockstar Games first announced Grand Theft Auto VI on February 4, 2022, in a Newswire post confirming that the next entry in the series was in active development. That post did not include a title, a release window, or any footage. It only said the game was planned and that the team was working on it.
The actual name “Grand Theft Auto VI” and the first trailer came much later. Trailer 1 debuted on December 4, 2023, and promised a release in 2025. That date later slipped to May 26, 2026, and then finalized to November 19, 2026. Pre-orders opened June 25, 2026.
If you count the February 2022 confirmation as the announcement, that is the official first word. Everything before that, including leaks and rumors, was not an announcement from Rockstar.