Take-Two Stock Falls on Latest Grand Theft Auto Delay

A still from the trailer for Grand Theft Auto VI. (Business Wire / Rockstar / Take-Two)

Key Points

• Grand Theft Auto VI’s release date has been delayed again to Nov. 19, 2026, from its previous May 2026 target.
• Take-Two Interactive reported adjusted revenue of $1.96 billion, exceeding the $1.73 billion Wall Street consensus.
• Take-Two raised its fiscal year adjusted revenue guidance to $6.4 billion to $6.5 billion, surpassing the $6.2 billion consensus.

The most hotly anticipated game in the videogame industry has been delayed again.

On Thursday, Take-Two Interactive Software announced that Grand Theft Auto VI would now be released on Nov. 19, 2026. The game was originally slated to launch in fall 2025 before being pushed back to May 2026.

“We are sorry for adding additional time to what we realize has been a long wait, but these extra months will allow us to finish the game with the level of polish you have come to expect and deserve,” Rockstar Games, the Take-Two development studio behind the GTA franchise, posted on social media.

Take-Two shares were down 8% in early trading Friday.

The game delay overshadowed Take-Two’s solid fiscal second quarter earnings results, in which the publisher reported better-than-expected adjusted revenue of $1.96 billion versus the $1.73 billion Wall Street consensus, according to FactSet. Take-Two also raised its guidance for adjusted revenue for the fiscal year to a range of $6.4 billion to $6.5 billion versus the $6.2 billion consensus.

On Thursday, Baird analyst Colin Sebastian reaffirmed his Outperform rating for Take-Two stock and reiterated his $260 price target.

The delay is “disappointing, but not a big surprise,” he wrote. “With the portfolio performing well, industry trends generally stable, and a strong pipeline ahead, we would be buyers on pullbacks.”

Take-Two stock is up 26% this year, compared with a 18% rise for the Nasdaq Composite index.

Write to Tae Kim at tae.kim@barrons.com