GTA 6 LIVE: May 2026 release date 'not guaranteed' says industry insider

New Mapping Project update

The latest speculated in-game map for GTA 6 has been revealed.

The Mapping Project is an online community that's piecing together what the in-game map is likely to look like based on co-ordinates from the trailers, screenshots, Rockstar's website, leaks and widespread speculation.

The community continues to work through the latest information shared by Rockstar and in this update, the big changes are that Ambrosia has been added and Lake Leonida has been updated based on new triangulation data and some speculation, according to the change log.

There's also been an update of Vice City International Airport - and it looks huge - along with a "cleanup" of Port Gellhorn. Mount Kalaga's speculative position has been tweaked too.

To be clear, the map has not yet been officially revealed by Rockstar.

May 2026 release date 'not guaranteed' says industry insider

A Bloomberg article from Jason Schreier says "there's no guarantee that May 2026 is a sure thing" for GTA 6.

GTA 6 was delayed from Autumn 2025 to May 26 2026 by Rockstar Games on May 2.

Rockstar has a track record of delaying a game to make sure it is in a complete state before release - Red Dead Redemption 2 was delayed twice before release and GTA 5 and GTA 4 were both delayed too.

Rockstar has only just announced a delay and social media is now in meltdown about the potential of GTA 6 being delayed further.

To be clear, this will not be known for months and months, most likely until the end of 2025 or the start of 2026 if the recent delay timeframe is anything to go by.

Former Rockstar dev's 'priceless' reaction to GTA 6 characters 

A former Rockstar developer had a "priceless reaction" when going through the GTA 6 website.

Mike York was an animator at the studio from 2012 to 2017 having worked on GTA 5, GTA Online and Red Dead Redemption 2.

And he was left completely stunned when looking at the Real Dimez characters.

In a video posted on social media, York on a stream said: "This is absolutely bananas. Look at her vibing, look at her hair, that's in game, I can tell that's in game... Oh f***."

ICYMI: Release date delay 'absolutely necessary' Rockstar insider says, it's claimed

A Rockstar insider said a release date delay is "absolutely necessary" as content was being cut, it's claimed by a prominent social media account.

@GameRoll_ regularly posts about GTA 6 and Rockstar Games and correctly identified the full names of main protagonists Lucia and Jason weeks before they were officially revealed.

The YouTuber said a source told him about these names in advance. And @GameRoll_ has now said the same source revealed to them the recent delay announcement was "absolutely necessary".

@GameRoll_ posted: "One thing I'll also say is that this source made it very clear to me that a delay to 2026 was ABSOLUTELY necessary.

"If we had gotten GTA 6 in 2025, it would have been a significantly worse game. They began cutting a lot of cool stuff to try and make that deadline."

On May 2, Rockstar announced GTA 6 was delayed from Autumn 2025 to May 26 2026.

Expected performance across all consoles revealed by tech experts

Tech experts at Digital Foundry have given their verdicts about how GTA 6 is likely to run across all consoles and it may not be good news for those wanting to play the game on Xbox Series S.

Speaking about that console in particular, Richard Leadbetter, founder of Digital Foundry, said: "You don't have the memory bandwidth, which could be problematic, and you don't have the same amount of memory so there are going to be cutbacks."

Expanding on that, Oliver Mackenzie said: "Greatly decreased rendering resolution could be the first thing, lower texture streaming quality, lower texture detail assets, lower res shadow volumetric assets, reduced ray tracing quality big time, possibly the removal of ray tracing reflections.

"That's one I think they could probably remove but it would not look very pretty because this game is full of glossy surfaces, it's full of artificial environments, it really does appear to rely on ray traced reflections to an extent I've never seen before in a game.

"The hair strand system could be replaced with some crappy looking hair currents."

"Scaling down is going to be challenging," Alex Battaglia, video producer, added. He also spoke about what's expected from the PS5 Pro.

"If that's an area [draw distance] that's cut back on PS5, it would be wonderful to see PS5 Pro extend that, I think that would be very useful," he added.

"RT [ray tracing] quality and distance will be most interesting, utilising the expanding ray tracing capabilities of the hardware," Mackenzie agreed.

Digital Foundry previously said it does not expect the game to run on Nintendo Switch 2 as it's "too big". The game is currently only confirmed to release on PS5 and Xbox Series X/S.

GTA 4 port coming to PS5 and Xbox Series X/S claims insider

Moving away from GTA 6 for a sec, a port of GTA 4 may be coming to the current generation of consoles as soon as this year, according to an insider.

Tez2 is a dataminer, someone who analyses game files such as code to uncover information about unknown or unreleased content, and regularly posts updates about Rockstar Games.

Comments from the user in response to a question about a GTA 4 port on PS5 and Xbox Series X/S have been spotted on an online forum.

Read the full story here.

'What no-one has been talking about'

Redditor OkAtmosphere7572 posted in the GTA 6 Subreddit something they claim "no-one has been talking about".

The user posted: "In GTA 5 planes are scaled down a bit from their irl size. However in GTA 6 we can see how big they will be in the scene where Lucia can even fit in the landing gear compartment of a plane. As a player how loves aviation in GTA 6 this is getting me excited."

And others have been sharing their thoughts.

sidewinda98 said: "The detail on the landing gear is crazy."

Business-Jury4785 said: "They need to make airports bigger though. LSIA (Los Santos International Airport) was ridiculously small for those 747s. I hope smaller planes like the A320 or B737 will be flyable in the game as well."

Pistoluislero said: "That shot showcased few buildings in the city from above. This game will be crazyyyyyy."

'Jason is not a cop'

There is a popular fan theory about GTA 6 that Jason is actually an undercover cop working against Lucia and this will be played out over the course of the game's campaign.

However others have pointed out a "massive plot hole" with that theory, summed up by X / Twitter user @that1detectiv3.

The user said: "Jason Duval is not an undercover cop. It would make no sense for a police officer to willingly murder innocent people and commit countless crimes across Leonida.

"That would be a massive plot hole and would make the GTA 6 story comedically bad. Rockstar is better than that."

Release date delay 'absolutely necessary' Rockstar insider says, it's claimed

A Rockstar insider said a release date delay is "absolutely necessary" as content was being cut, it's claimed by a prominent social media account.

@GameRoll_ regularly posts about GTA 6 and Rockstar Games and correctly identified the full names of main protagonists Lucia and Jason weeks before they were officially revealed.

The YouTuber said a source told him about these names in advance. And @GameRoll_ has now said the same source revealed to them the recent delay announcement was "absolutely necessary".

@GameRoll_ posted: "One thing I'll also say is that this source made it very clear to me that a delay to 2026 was ABSOLUTELY necessary.

"If we had gotten GTA 6 in 2025, it would have been a significantly worse game. They began cutting a lot of cool stuff to try and make that deadline."

On May 2, Rockstar announced GTA 6 was delayed from Autumn 2025 to May 26 2026.

Former GTA 6 dev reveals development timeline

A former GTA 6 developer has revealed the game has not been in development at Rockstar for as long some may think.

David O'Reilly, a former Rockstar North environment artist, posted a video on YouTube as Game World Art reacting to trailer 2 and screenshots for GTA 6.

In the video, he said: "I worked on GTA 6 from 2018 until 2023. Went onto it after we wrapped up on RDR2. It's fascinating having a look at all this stuff."

The game may have been in pre-production for longer than that but it seems GTA 6 was not in active development until Red Dead Redemption 2 was released.

'GTA 6 could open up a whole new can of worms' with how violence and sex are handled

​​Grand Theft Auto​ games have courted controversy in the past because of their content and what they allow players to do.

A published ​Metro​ reader letter​ said this could once again be the case with ​GTA 6​, particularly because of how realistic the game looks and how it may handle the themes of violence and sex.

Lumpy wrote: "I'm not taking a stance on it, at least until I see how they handle it, but if you can just let rip with a heavy machinegun, or whatever, into a crowd, that's going to be pretty disturbing if it all looks and plays out realistically.

"GTA 6 could open up a whole new can of worms and that's before we find out how it handles sex. There's a sort of sex scene in the second trailer but if Rockstar try [sic] anything more than that I can just imagine how the usual suspects are going to react.

"The better the graphics get the harder these questions are to answer with a 'it's not real'."

Trailer 2 and screenshots 'reveal' playable minigames

A Redditor has posted an image in the GTA 6 Subreddit of "possible" minigames that could feature in GTA 6 based on trailer 2 and the screenshots Rockstar has shared.

The image shows 13 different potential activities, which are pool / billiards, fishing, tennis, basketball, scuba diving, mini golf, kayaking, beach football, hunting, dirt bike racing, cage fighting, strip club and dancing.

BlackChamber007 added: "These are by far not every minigame that will be in the game, and some are speculation based on the screenshot itself, or rumours I've read / heard; but it will be interesting to see the full list of mini-games once the game releases. Hopefully bowling, darts, archery, full course golf, arcade games, air hockey and any other fan-favourite minigames will be included; as well as the ones on the list I have compiled here."

And others have been sharing their thoughts.

cooper-howard-1 said: "I hope you can play 🎱 pool."

Abvk0 said: "There is racing and also dice in the leaks so it's not farfetched to say poker and gambling in general is in the game as well. What I personally want is those badminton tournaments like in the 3D era and vigilante missions."

Rex_Digsdale said: "I really hope there's surfing. As real as possible. Paddling and whatnot."

Specific playable minigames have not yet been confirmed by Rockstar.

Lighting detail discovered

Another incredible level of detail in trailer 2 has been posted by Redditor simysingh20 in the GTA 6 Subreddit.

The user posted a screenshot from the trailer of when Lucia gets home and embraces Jason where two PlayStation controllers can be seen on the table.

simysingh20 spotted the light of one of them is distorted through a beer bottle.

And others have been commenting with their thoughts.

OnlyA5Wagyu said: "I'm afraid this game is gonna have hundreds of intricate details like this that most players won't pay enough attention to. This stuff is amazing."

Dinglehouser said: "It also looks like they're both on despite him being alone and asleep."

PsychologicalPea9759 said: "PlayStation should release a limited edition controller that looks just like this."

GTA Online update

Rockstar has shared a new update about GTA Online.

A social media post said: "As an elite fixer, you'll do whatever it takes to help a celebrity like Dr Dre.

"Track down Dre's stolen phone full of unreleased tracks and exact revenge in The Data Leaks for 2x GTA$ and RP. Plus bonuses on Security Contracts and more."

'100 per cent convinced this is gameplay footage'

Redditor No-Adhesiveness412 posted in the GTA 6 Subreddit they are "100 per cent convinced" the scene of what seems to be Lucia blowing up vehicles is gameplay footage.

The scene seems to show Lucia over-the-shoulder shooting weapons at vehicles which then explode.

No-Adhesiveness412 said: "This looks like one of those 'shoot them while I drive' mission sequences, the way the camera is positioned, just without a hud. And it has been confirmed by Rockstar themselves that the trailer did in fact contain gameplay."

Others have been sharing their thoughts.

Peach-66 said: "Also when you jump from vehicle to vehicle is probably part of the gameplay."

Neither-Penalty-1251 said: "Tt really makes me wonder about the rest of the game, like the shootouts, the gunplay, fist fights - I really want a gameplay trailer."

Shadow_Clarke said: "This is easily the best video game explosion ever made like look at this f****** s***, the shockwave, lighting and the riot vehicle not giving a single f***. Five star chases are going to be nuts in this game man."

Potential gameplay feature stokes fans

Redditors seem to be very much looking forward to the idea of driving vehicles over drawbridges in GTA 6.

A screenshot Rockstar shared of one of the characters, Raul Bautista, shows a drawbridge pulling up in the background behind him.

Redditor heartalot spotted this and posted in the GTA 6 Subreddit: "Can't wait to pull stunts while the drawbridge is going up like in Watch Dogs."

With the post getting 2.7k upvotes at the time of writing, it seems others are very much looking forward to doing the same.

Upgraded hair physics

Tech experts and Redditors have been left amazed by the upgraded hair physics in GTA 6.

Will Judd, deputy editor at Digital Foundry, wrote an article analysing the technical accomplishments of trailer 2 and said: "A monumental quality leap here is evident in GTA 6, with higher-fidelity characters and particularly more dynamic hair rendering.

"1:11 into the trailer is a great example, where Lucia rolls on the bed and her hair whips around realistically; there's another twirl 25 seconds later that also looks great.

"This suggests a strand-based hair system is in play rather than a more traditional card-based system and allows for a much greater diversity of hair types to look natural, especially curlier styles, in motion."

This was also picked up on Reddit. In the GTA 6 Subreddit, RodneyMac12 said: "I didn't think it could get any better than trailer 1 but I am amazed yet again by the fidelity and physics of the hair. Lucia's hair properly blows in the wind now, bounces accordingly and goes upside down when she does. Shorter styles have movement and different textures have different physics applied very realistically. There are even more hairstyles seen in this trailer / screenshots. Very excited for online when it comes eventually."

And others have been sharing their thoughts too.

Shenrak said: "Feels like a straight up movie gotta admit."

Mister_Frowdo said: "What I'm really curious about with the hair physics is how it will react to water and rain. I mean, if you look at these individual hair physics and how realistic they look, I just know that Rockstar's going to do something special with the reaction to water as well."

PapaYoppa said: "Best hair physics I've seen in a game."

Does Jason have Michael's boat from GTA 5?

There's a viral theory that Jason has Michael's stolen boat from GTA 5.

In one GTA 5 mission, Michael's boat gets stolen and he never manages to get it back. What appears to be the same boat appears in one of the opening scenes in trailer 2, near Jason's house.

It's sparked a viral fan theory that Jason may have stolen, or come into possession, of the stolen boat.

Ned Luke, who plays Michael in GTA 5, replied to the theory on social media and said: "I'm coming Jason... For my boat."

It comes after he posted a video on social media 11 years after the release of GTA 5 that he "finally got [his] boat back" and this clip itself went viral.

New Mapping Project details revealed

A Redditor has shared the change log for the latest speculated GTA 6 map from the Mapping Project.

The project is an online community that's piecing together what the in-game map is likely to look like based on co-ordinates from the trailer, leaks and widespread speculation.

Updates have been added following Rockstar Games releasing trailer 2 and loads of new screenshots. This will continue to be updated as more information becomes known.

The major points from the latest change log said: "Added the speculative location for Watson Bay to the map (needs more triangulation data).

"Pencilled in the speculative shape / layout of the Key islands and causeways from the opening scenes of trailer 2 and screenshots (needs more triangulation for scale).

"Added Jason's House to the Keys as a safehouse marker and all the houses surrounding it from the intro of trailer 2.

"Made Lake Leonida slightly smaller and tweaked the position of Ambrosia based on new speculative analysis. Added Leonida State and the speculative Gloriana State to the map based on new analysis data.

"Added the speculative location for Mount Kalaga up in the north."

The names of other specific buildings and areas, along with speculative information, have been updated and included too.

Trailer 2 reveals Switch 2 and 60fps verdicts say tech experts

Tech experts at Digital Foundry have said trailer 2 for GTA 6 has given strong indications about any possibility of the game eventually releasing on Nintendo Switch 2 and if the game will run at 60fps.

Will Judd, deputy editor, wrote: "You could certainly imagine a world where Rockstar adds in a 60fps mode that still runs at 30fps during cutscenes to keep fidelity high but it's hard to imagine a 60fps mode that also includes the RTGI (ray traced global illumination) and RT (ray traced) reflections that lends the game world its realistic look.

"At that point, the game world would look so dramatically different - and require so much additional work to recreate the lighting and reflections using rasterised techniques - that it scarcely seems believable.

"It also likely means that the game is 'too big' for Switch 2, at least based on what we know about the T239 chip the Nintendo handheld is based around."

Rockstar has confirmed the game will release on PS5 and Xbox Series X/S only at launch on May 26 2026. Nintendo Switch 2 and PC have not been mentioned.