Strauss Zelnick believes that Rockstar Games needed the extra time in order to achieve its “creative vision with no limitations.”

Grand Theft Auto 6 getting delayed from its original Fall 2025 release window to its new release date of May 26, 2026 has definitely caused some ripple effects. In an interview with IGN, CEO of publisher Take-Two Interactive Strauss Zelnick said that the delay pained him as well. However, he did also say that the decision to delay the most-anticipated game was made because developer Rockstar Games needed the extra time to achieve its “creative vision with no limitations.”

“As we get closer to completion of a title that’s seeking perfection, the needs or lack thereof, for continued polish become clear,” Zelnick said. “In this case there was an opportunity with a small amount of incremental time, we thought, to make sure Rockstar Games achieves its creative vision with no limitations. And I supported of course that approach.”

Zelnick also mentioned that, while delaying GTA 6 might affect Take-Two Interactive’s performance for the current fiscal year, the decision will pay off in the long term. The rest of the year is also expected to do quite well for the publisher owing to other games coming out like Borderlands 4 and Mafia: The Old Country.

“I feel really good about how fiscal 26 looks sitting here today,” he said. “And while of course, delays pain me — how could they not? — the most important thing to do is to support your teams in their search for perfection.”

The CEO also doesn’t expect Grand Theft Auto 6 to see further delays, since the game now has a concrete release date. “I think historically when we set a specific date, generally speaking, we’ve been very good about reaching it,” he said.

In a recent investor Q&A, Zelnick also expressed optimism about the publisher’s relationship with Nintendo for the upcoming Switch 2. According to him, this optimism stems from the fact that Nintendo has been good at supporting third-party publishing partners as it gears up for the launch of its new console.

“We’re launching four titles with Nintendo Switch 2, and that’s I think a bigger array of releases than we’ve ever offered before with a new Nintendo platform,” said Zelnick. “Historically, being a third party in the Nintendo business has been a bit challenging. I think Nintendo has been very forthcoming in addressing that. And we’re stepping up too, because we have great optimism for the platform.”

The delay for Grand Theft Auto 6 was announced earlier this month. The studio apologised to fans that were waiting for the game, while also noting that the delay was needed in order to “deliver at the level of quality you expect and deserve.”

Shortly after announcing the delay, Rockstar released a new trailer for GTA 6 that gave us a deeper, better look at its characters, as well as the game’s primary setting of the Florida-inspired fictional state of Leonida, as well as the Miami-inspired Vice City. Along with the trailer, Rockstar also revealed a bunch of more information about the game, including its supporting cast and some of the locations that players will get to explore.