The final week of March has been a chaotic and busy one for games publisher Take-Two Interactive, as varying reports on release date of the highly anticipated Grand Theft Auto 6 have affected share prices.
At the start of the week, Kotaku reported that Rockstar Games leadership was fearful of the idea of missing their 2025 release window, as development of GTA 6 was already “falling behind” due in part to staff pushback against a mandatory return to offices. In its original report, Kotaku stated that Rockstar was still confident in its “early 2025” planned release, but later retracted that, saying that early 2025 was “no longer possible.”
Following this report, Take-Two Interactive Software Inc. shares dropped 5.2 percent, and while the share price did receive a boost today after the company acquired developer Gearbox and announced a Borderlands sequel, it still has not recovered to the point it was before the Kotaku report.
Mike Straw from Insider Gaming reported today that they had spoken to several “sources close to the game’s development,” and every one of their sources said the game was “on schedule” and that reports of a delay were “pure conjecture.” Bloomberg reporter Jason Schreier wrote today there is a chance of a GTA 6 delay, but because “game development is a messy, nonlinear process,” rather than because of any specific issue at Rockstar.
Schreier also reported “there’s no indication that anything significant has changed” with the development of GTA 6, adding that his sources responded “mostly with shrugs” when asked about delay rumors.
It’s not completely surprising to see shareholders panic and prices drop due to a rumored GTA 6 delay, considering financial expectations for the game couldn’t possibly be any higher given the success of GTA 5.
