GTA 6 Delay: No Surprise, Rockstar's History Shows Why

Take a deep breath and remember: Delays are good.

OK, that statement isn’t *always* true, but it usually is. While delayed projects can sometimes result in disappointing releases (looking at you, Duke Nukem Forever), more often than not, taking extra time leads to exceptional results. Meticulous attention to detail and the courage to discard promising but flawed concepts are crucial in art. Consider how many times you’ve played a rushed, unfinished game and wished the developers had delayed it until it was truly ready. Keep that thought in mind as we discuss the impact of delays on beloved franchises.

GTA 6 is delayed, and that's good news because it will likely be better for it.

Rockstar Games has a storied history of delaying their releases to ensure they hit the market fully polished, placing them in the same league as Nintendo. This discipline results in consistently high-quality games that are well worth the wait.

As a long-time fan of the GTA series, I've experienced the evolution from four-player PC GTA LAN parties to playing the lesser-known titles like London 1969, the iconic GTA V, and the critically acclaimed Chinatown Wars on the DS. I've explored, caused chaos, and immersed myself in these vibrant, quirky worlds for decades. Thankfully, these games are almost always delayed—and not coincidentally, always exceptional. Let's look at every delay in GTA history, and include some insights on Red Dead Redemption too.

Grand Theft Auto III

Rockstar's New York office was just blocks away from the World Trade Center, leading to a brief delay of GTA III after the September 11 attacks. Marketing VP Terry Donovan announced the delay shortly after:

"Our decision is based on two factors, firstly it has been a little difficult to get work done in downtown Manhattan in the last week since basic communications infrastructure has been intermittent at best, and secondly we felt that a full content review of all our titles and the marketing materials we use to represent them was absolutely necessary for us in light of the horrifying event we all witnessed in the United States last week."

He continued: "As for Grand Theft Auto, since the game is so huge the review is no short process. So far we have come across certain small contextual references that we were no longer comfortable with, as well as a couple of very rare gameplay instances that no longer felt appropriate to us. We apologize to you and all the people waiting for this game to ship for the delays that have now ensued, but I'm sure you can understand our reasoning. Rest assured the game will be phenomenal...and you can expect it to hit shelves in late October."

Even with only minimal content changes, the delay was a wise decision for both Rockstar and the gaming community. Launching a game with themes of violence and chaos so soon after such a tragic event would have been insensitive.

Grand Theft Auto: Vice City and Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas

Vice City and San Andreas share the record for the shortest delays. In the era before digital distribution and day-one patches, manufacturers had to estimate production volumes well in advance. Rockstar delayed Vice City by seven days to meet overwhelming demand for more physical copies following the success of GTA III.

Similarly, San Andreas for PS2 was released a week later than planned, a strategic decision to allow the development team extra time to polish their extensive two-year project.

Every Celebrity in GTA: San Andreas

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Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories and Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars

The GTA handheld games are exceptional, and it's worth revisiting them on your PSP or DS. While these titles typically meet their release dates, Vice City Stories for PSP was delayed for two weeks in North America, and longer in parts of Europe.

Chinatown Wars, which I believe is the best GTA game (feel free to debate me on this!), faced a two-month delay. Its eventual release was met with critical acclaim, but unfortunately, it didn't achieve the commercial success it deserved. Had it sold better, we might be enjoying sequels on modern platforms like the Nintendo Switch.

Grand Theft Auto IV

After GTA III revolutionized the gaming industry, the anticipation for GTA IV was immense. With the transition to a new console generation and the abandonment of the outdated RenderWare engine, Rockstar Leeds aimed for unprecedented quality. This ambition led to several months of delay.

As Rockstar’s Sam Houser explained, “The new consoles [PS3 and 360] are allowing us to create the Grand Theft Auto game we always dreamed about. Every aspect of the game and its design has been completely transformed. The game is huge and is pushing the hardware platforms to their absolute limits. The top engineers from Sony and Microsoft are working closely with the team in Edinburgh right now, helping us to fully leverage the power of both platforms. As always, our goal is to surpass even the wildest expectations of the game's fans, and to create the ultimate high definition video game experience."

Grand Theft Auto V

The biggest console game of all time, GTA V, was eagerly awaited. Originally slated for a spring 2013 release, it eventually launched in September of that year. In late January 2013, Rockstar released the following message:

“We know this is about four months later than originally planned and we know that this short delay will come as a disappointment to many of you, but, trust us, it will be worth the extra time. GTAV is a massively ambitious and complex game and it simply needs a little more polish to be of the standard we and, more importantly, you require. ‘To all Grand Theft Auto fans, please accept our apologies for the delay, and our promise that the entire team here is working very hard to make the game all it can be. We are doing all we can to help ensure it will meet if not exceed your expectations come September – we thank you for your support and patience.’"

Their commitment paid off. GTA V became the most successful console game ever and, along with Red Dead Redemption 2, is a shining example of Rockstar's dedication to quality.

Red Dead Redemption 2

While not part of the GTA series, Red Dead Redemption 2 is a masterpiece worthy of mention. Following Rockstar's tradition of quality-based delays, RDR2 was postponed twice. The first delay occurred in spring 2017 for additional quality assurance. The second delay in February 2018 pushed the release to late October. Rockstar's statement highlighted the focus on quality:

"We are excited to announce that Red Dead Redemption 2 will be released on October 26th 2018. We apologize to everyone disappointed by this delay. While we had hoped to have the game out sooner, we require a little extra time for polish.

“We sincerely thank you for your patience and hope that when you get to play the game, you will agree the wait will have been worth it. In the meantime, please check out these screenshots from the game. We look forward to sharing a lot more information with you in the coming weeks."

This delay, like others before it, resulted in a game that set new standards in the adventure genre.

So, friends, don't despair. GTA 6 will arrive, and when it does, it will almost certainly be a masterpiece. See you in Vice City.