Take-Two’s Strauss Zelnick says the delay reflects “the desire to polish and create the best possible experience for consumers.”

The delay of Grand Theft Auto 6 caused huge ripples in the industry, matched only by its second trailer dropping a few days later. Amid the renewed hype and optimism, Strauss Zelnick, CEO of Rockstar’s parent company Take-Two Interactive, said the team strives to create “the best thing anyone’s ever seen in entertainment, not just interactive entertainment.”

In a new interview with CNBC about the delay, Zelnick said, “The key thing is that Rockstar Games is trying to create the best thing anyone’s ever seen in entertainment, not just interactive entertainment. That’s a tall order, and I think consumers have huge hopes for the title.

“But the delay itself is really a reflection of the desire to polish and create the best possible experience for consumers, and we as a company have been known not to have a sort of slavish devotion to release dates but rather to seek the highest quality entertainment.”

Of course, there’s always the possibility of further slippage. Zelnick warned of the same earlier this year when the open-world title was slated for this Fall. However, he stated that when the company generally announced a date, “We’re able to hit that date.” That’s certainly been the case with Red Dead Redemption 2 and Grand Theft Auto 5, with both titles suffering delays before receiving definitive release dates.

That could always change with Grand Theft Auto 6, but, as always, time will tell. It’s out on May 26th, 2026, for Xbox Series X/S, PS5, and PC.