GTA 6: Everything We Know About the Game of the Decade—Release Date, Prices, Editions, and Pre-Order Bonuses

There are less than 100 days left until the release of Grand Theft Auto VI: the release date is set for November 19, 2026, pre-orders are already open, and Rockstar Games has launched a full-scale marketing campaign. The thirteen-year wait since GTA V is coming to an end, and the industry is holding its breath: analysts are predicting record-breaking sales for the game. Here’s everything we know for sure about GTA 6 as of mid-August 2026.

GTA 6 — Джейсон и Люсия, официальный арт Rockstar Games

Release Date and Platforms

GTA 6 will be released on November 19, 2026, for PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S. Digital pre-loading will begin one week before release—on November 12. This is the final release date following two delays: the game was originally expected in 2025, then Rockstar pushed the release to May 26, 2026, and in November 2025, to November 19. At that time, the studio apologized to players and explained that the additional months were needed to bring the game up to the level of polish that the audience expects. Take-Two Interactive CEO Strauss Zelnick has since repeatedly confirmed the date and stated that no further delays are planned.

The PC version is a particular source of frustration: it hasn’t even been announced yet. Rockstar is following its tried-and-true pattern (GTA V made its way to PC a year and a half after the console release, and Red Dead Redemption 2 a year later), and insiders agree that the PC version won’t be released until at least 2027. If you plan to play on launch day, you’ll need a console.

Editions and Prices

Pre-orders opened on June 25, 2026, on the PlayStation Store and Microsoft Store. The game is available in two digital editions:

Edition	Price	Contents
Standard Edition	$79.99	Base Game
Ultimate Edition	$99.99	Game + content pack: cars, weapons, outfits, tattoos, garages, tuning shops, and exclusive locations

Confirmed content for the Ultimate Edition includes the 1967 Vapid Dominator buggy, the 1995 Grotti Cheetah sports car, the Shitzu Squalo speedboat, the Hawk & Little Morgan revolvers, as well as exclusive locations on the map: Stock 305, Sara’s Unisex Salon, and Electric Fang Tattoo. The Standard Edition, priced at $80, has, by the way, definitively set a new price benchmark for AAA games—rumors of the first-ever $100 game have not been confirmed.

Pre-order bonus and an important detail about the discs

Everyone who pre-orders will receive the Vintage Vice City pack: a 1955 Vapid Stanier retro sedan, the Shore Court garage near Ocean Beach, outfits and hairstyles for Jason and Lucia, as well as weapon skins in the style of the original GTA: Vice City. The bonus is included in all digital editions purchased before November 20, 2026, and in physical copies from the first production run.

Digital pre-orders also include a one-month GTA+ subscription: 500,000 GTA$ monthly in GTA Online, bonuses for Shark Packs, free cars, and access to the Rockstar Classics library. After one month, the subscription automatically renews for a fee—be sure to cancel it if you don’t need it.

Collectors are in for a disappointment: physical editions of GTA 6 do not include a disc—the box contains only a download code. Rockstar has fully transitioned to a digital distribution model.

Story and World: Jason, Lucia, and the State of Leonida

GTA 6 takes place in the fictional state of Leonida, inspired by modern-day Florida—with a return to the legendary Vice City. The trailers show that the city has grown to incredible proportions: beaches, residential neighborhoods, coastal highways, swamps with alligators, and vibrant street life, while social media and live streams are woven into the very fabric of the world.

The main characters are a criminal duo in the vein of Bonnie and Clyde: Jason Duval, a former soldier, and Lucia Caminos—the first playable female protagonist in the series’ history. Judging by the released material, the story is built around the pair’s relationship: heists, chases, and major criminal operations for which the protagonists will sooner or later have to pay the price. The character-switching mechanic, which first appeared in GTA V, will be expanded—the trailers feature scenes where the protagonists work as a team.

A Long-Awaited Story

The anticipation surrounding GTA 6 has become a phenomenon in gaming culture all its own. GTA V was released on September 17, 2013—thirteen years ago—and in that time has spanned three generations of consoles, becoming the highest-grossing entertainment product in history: $1 billion in revenue in the first three days of sales and over 200 million copies sold. Rockstar didn’t officially announce the development of the sixth installment until February 2022, and the first trailer in December 2023 became the biggest video event of the decade, racking up tens of millions of views in a single day.

Then began a series of release date delays. The initial release window—2025—was narrowed down to fall 2025 in May 2024, then moved to May 26, 2026, and in November 2025, to its final date of November 19, 2026. Each delay was accompanied by apologies and the same argument: the studio needs time to polish the game. Given Rockstar’s reputation (none of the studio’s games have ever been released unfinished) and the scale of the project, the audience generally took the delays in stride—memes asking “Is GTA 6 out yet?” became just part of the lore surrounding the anticipation.

What We Know About the Gameplay

Rockstar traditionally doesn’t reveal details before release, but some things are already clear. The trailers have shown an unprecedented level of world detail: the crowded beaches of Vice City, nightclubs, Leonida’s swamps with alligators, in-game social networks with streams and eyewitness videos—the world reacts to the characters’ antics almost like the real internet. A “live” animation has appeared on the game’s website when scrolling through the page, which Rockstar presents as a recording of actual gameplay.

Shootouts, chases, land, water, and air transportation, side activities, and story-driven heists have been confirmed. The duo of Jason and Lucia suggests an evolution of the character-switching system from GTA V—with the difference that the characters are story-linked and act as a pair. The studio will reveal details about leveling up, the economy, and online mode closer to release.

Lucía Caminos: A First for the Series

Lucía deserves a special mention—she’s the first full-fledged female protagonist in Grand Theft Auto history. In the story, she escapes from Leonida Prison and, together with Jason, finds herself drawn into a string of crimes across the state. Rockstar is banking on the dynamic between the pair: trust, betrayal, and joint ventures—judging by the trailers, the story revolves specifically around their relationship against the backdrop of a criminal epic.

Where’s the third trailer?

The main question on the fan community’s mind in recent months has been when Rockstar will release the third trailer. Here are the facts: the first trailer came out in December 2023, the second on May 6, 2025 (and racked up 19 million views in the first four hours). Ahead of the pre-order launch on June 25, the studio released more than 60 new screenshots, but not a single frame from a new video.

As of mid-August, the trailer hasn’t been shown, and there’s no official release date—all the “insider” reports with specific dates turned out to be false. The publisher’s track record shows that Rockstar releases trailers unexpectedly, on its own channels, without warning. At the same time, Zelnik explicitly stated that major marketing spending begins closer to the release—and with three months left until November 19, a new batch of gameplay footage is expected in the coming weeks. It’s possible that the premiere is timed to coincide with gamescom 2026, which will take place in late August.

Why This Release Is So Important

GTA V, released in 2013, has sold over 200 million copies and continues to bring Take-Two hundreds of millions of dollars per quarter through GTA Online. The sixth installment is expected to be no less successful: analysts call GTA 6 potentially the highest-grossing entertainment release in history—not just among games. Competitors’ publishers are seriously adjusting their release windows to align with November 19, and the industry is debating how the GTA “black hole” will impact sales for the entire fall season. The fate of GTA Online after the new installment’s release is another source of intrigue: Rockstar has not yet revealed what the online component of GTA 6 will look like or what will happen to players’ progress in GTA Online.

We’ll be monitoring the news and updating this article as new details emerge—the third trailer, details about the online mode, and the PC version will each be the subject of separate news stories.

Sources: Rockstar Games, Hi-Tech Mail.ru, Sortiraparis, TimeSaver.gg.