Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick has opened up about the huge pressure Rockstar Games faces with Grand Theft Auto 6. Fans have set the bar insanely high after the epic success of GTA 5, and Zelnick says the devs are desperate to beat those “extraordinary expectations.”
GTA 6 was first officially revealed at the end of 2023 with a 90-second trailer that lit up the internet. Initially, Rockstar aimed for a holiday 2025 release, but the launch has been pushed back to May 26, 2026. They said more time is needed to deliver the quality fans expect and deserve.
Guess Rockstar knows what they’re up against. Zelnick told CNBC on August 11 that they try not to hype things up too much, but Rockstar’s whole thing is to have massive expectations and still beat them. He sounded confident: “I know it is going to be an great game.”
He added Rockstar is juggling multiple projects, rumored to include remasters or updates for Red Dead Redemption 2, GTA 4, and Max Payne 3 for current-gen consoles, but GTA 6 stays their primary focus.
New interview with Take-Two CEO:
– Level of conviction about the GTA 6 release date is “very, very high”
– Rockstar is working on multiple stuff (rumored to be RDR2, GTA4 and Max Payne 3 for PS5 and Xbox Series X|S)
– Rockstar is capable of exceeding high expectations and it’s… pic.twitter.com/FmU5vamzm5— GTA 6 Countdown ⏳ (@GTAVI_Countdown) August 11, 2025
On the pricing front, Zelnick didn’t rule out a $100 price tag for GTA 6, saying their goal is always to deliver more value than what they charge. He’s mentioned special editions that could push the cost above $100, too. Yikes, that’s gonna sting the wallet for some.
With all this pressure and hype, will Rockstar pull off something even bigger than GTA 5? I’m curious if the wait will be worth it or if expectations will be too much to handle. What do you think?
