GTA VI

Grand Theft Auto VI comes out on Thursday, 19 November 2026, on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S. Rockstar's site adds that it "plays best on PlayStation 5". Rockstar Games develops and publishes it, and it is the eighth main entry in the series, following 2013's Grand Theft Auto V. Rockstar calls it a singleplayer experience. The ESRB rating is Mature, with the content descriptors Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Mature Humor, Nudity, Strong Language, Strong Sexual Content and Use of Drugs and Alcohol, and the notice "In-Game Purchases".

An easy score goes wrong in the sunniest place in America

Two people who have always known the odds are against them, Jason and Lucia, take what should be an easy score. It goes wrong, and they end up in "the darkest side of the sunniest place in America", caught in a criminal conspiracy that runs across the state of Leonida. Rockstar's pitch is that they have to lean on each other more than ever to get out alive.

Jason Duval grew up around grifters and crooks. He tried to shake off his troubled teens in the Army, then landed in the Keys working for local drug runners, doing what he knows best. Rockstar says it might be time for something new, and that meeting Lucia could be the best or the worst thing to happen to him.

Lucia Caminos was taught to fight by her father before she could even walk. Fighting for her family got her into the Leonida Penitentiary, and sheer luck got her out. Her aim now is the good life her mom has dreamed of since their days in Liberty City, and Rockstar says she is committed to her plan whatever it takes.

The cast also includes:

• Cal Hampton: Jason's friend, who feels safest at home with a few beers, snooping on Coast Guard comms.
• Raul Bautista: a seasoned bank robber, always looking for talent willing to take the big risk.

The rest of the cast is Boobie Ike, Dre'Quan Priest, Brian Heder and The Real Dimez (Bae-Luxe and Roxy).

Back to Vice City, after a trip to Miami in 2015

The game is set in the state of Leonida, and it brings the series back to Vice City. The idea goes back a long way: Rob Nelson, co-head of Rockstar North, took a small team to Miami in 2015 to research a return to the city. Rockstar held off committing to the Bonnie-and-Clyde-style story until Red Dead Redemption 2 was finished.

Two protagonists, six stars and a simulated sky

• Two protagonists. As in GTA V, you can switch between Jason and Lucia whenever the narrative allows. In one demoed getaway, the AI drives as one of them while you shoot as the other.
• Criminal Profile. Behaviour is tracked on a scale from "Professional" to "Irredeemable", shown with angel and devil icons. Rockstar says it will influence how the story unfolds.
• Relationship. Jason and Lucia's closeness is measured on a four-point scale. It rises with time spent together: beach walks, cycling, the gym, driving around. They cannot split up for good or give up crime.
• Police. On-screen icons show what the cops know: a description, one or two suspects, clothing, CCTV, a weapon. Splitting up, changing clothes or dropping the gun makes you harder to recognise. Police use stinger strips, helicopter searchlights and K9 units, and the Wanted level now tops out at six stars, up from five in GTA V.
• Weather. It is simulated, not preset. Wind moves the clouds, and humidity, fog, time of day and season all factor in too. Storms can be seen forming in the distance, surfaces dry at different rates, and pedestrians run for shelter.
• The world. Wildlife roams Leonida on land, in the air and at sea. There are working bus and train systems you can ride, and Aaron Garbut says there are "an order of magnitude more interiors" than in earlier games. Pedestrians have personality traits such as temperament and aggression, and they remember how you behaved. Roads are narrower than in GTA V, and the day-night cycle is much longer, with lingering sunsets and longer nights.
• Vehicles. Every car has a fuel gauge and an engine-health readout, and expensive ones may carry trackers. The Scooter Bros app delivers your car for a fee, and the WAINK app lists cars that fences want. Carjacking now uses a "Slim Jim" minigame, and some cars need key cloners.
• Weapons. You carry two primary firearms and two sidearms, and the rest stays in the vehicle, a system carried over from Red Dead Redemption 2.
• Activities. The Extended Look showed basketball, dirt-bike races, scuba diving, target practice, stock-car racing, kayaking, backyard wrestling and a bench-press minigame.

Justice wrote the score, and the radio goes wide

Justice (Gaspard Augé and Xavier de Rosnay), both Grammy winners, wrote the original score. It is adaptive, tuned to how you engage with the world. The 30-track Original Score album follows on 11 December on streaming, CD and vinyl. A separate release, Grand Theft Auto VI: The Album, made with Atlantic Records, has 34 original tracks and comes out on 19 November alongside the game.

In-game, Rockstar calls the radio and podcast selection its biggest and widest-ranging yet, from classic rock to talk radio. The named stations are Flash FM (pop), Cocoteo FM (modern Latin), Back Country Radio (country), AfroBank FM (amapiano and African music), The Chamber 106.6 (metal) and Dirty South Classics (southern rap). On-demand podcasts are a first for the series.

Two delays and one leaked trailer on the way to 19 November

• 4 February 2022: Rockstar confirms the next Grand Theft Auto is "well underway". Early development began after Red Dead Redemption 2 shipped in 2018, and principal production started in 2020.
• 4 December 2023: Trailer 1 comes out early after a low-quality copy leaked. It reveals the title, the protagonists, the setting, the consoles and a 2025 window, and reaches 101 million views within two days.
• 6 May 2025: Trailer 2 arrives, recorded on PlayStation 5, along with a website update of 70 screenshots and character and location descriptions. It drew a reported 475 million views across platforms in 24 hours and later won Best Game Trailer at the 2025 Golden Joystick Awards.
• May 2025: first delay, from the 2025 window to 26 May 2026.
• 6 November 2025: second delay, to 19 November 2026, for additional polish.
• 25 June 2026: pre-orders open at midnight local time, for both the standard game and the Ultimate Edition.
• 27 August 2026: an Extended Look premieres on Netflix, then on YouTube and the GTA VI site. It was captured entirely from in-game PlayStation 5 footage.
• 15 October 2026: the Launch Trailer debuts "Flower in a Hurricane" by Justice feat. Tame Impala, SZA and King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard.
• 12 November 2026: physical copies and digital pre-loading become available.
• 19 November 2026: launch.

$79.99 or $99.99, and a Vice City pack for early buyers

In the US, the standard edition costs $79.99 and the Ultimate Edition $99.99. The physical version has no disc, only a download code in the box.

Anyone who pre-orders or buys before 20 November gets the Vintage Vice City Pack:

• a two-tone '55 Vapid Stanier
• a garage at Ocean Beach
• retro outfits and hairstyles for Jason and Lucia
• a retro weapon pattern

Digital pre-orders also get a free month of GTA+.

The Ultimate Edition adds premium vehicles, weapons, apparel and missions:

• the '95 Grotti Cheetah
• Hawk & Little Morgan revolvers "sourced from the Vercetti Estate"
• a Squalo boat
• the Electric Fang tattoo parlour (50+ tattoos by the artist collective FAILE)
• Sara's Unisex Salon
• the Stock 305 streetwear store
• a classic-car commission from the fixer Wyman

No word yet on Online or PC

Nothing about a new GTA Online has been announced for launch, and a PC version has not been announced either. Only PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S are confirmed.