Grand Theft Auto 6 was delayed late last week, and one report has now suggested that Rockstar has pushed the project to 2026 to help its staff avoid a period of 'crunch'Tech10:59, 06 May 2025Expect Vice City to be packed with detail(Image: Rockstar)Rockstar finally broke hearts last week, announcing what we'd suspected for a while—GTA 6 won't make 2026 after all.After more than 500 days without a peep, the company released a lengthy statement on Friday that said "We are very sorry this is later than you expected," while also promising the extra time is needed "to deliver at the level of quality you expect and deserve."‌As fans now prepare for a long wait until May 26, 2026, one reporter has suggested Fall 2025 wasn't a realistic target for some time. Here's what Bloomberg's Jason Schreier had to say on why the decision was made to push 2025's biggest title to next year.‌"Nobody I’ve talked to at Rockstar has believed Fall 2025 was a real window for a very long time now," Schreier posted on Bluesky."Too much work, not enough time, and what appears to be a real desire from management to avoid brutal crunch. GTA VI slipping to 2026 has seemed inevitable for months if not longer."Article continues belowHere's hoping we get a new trailer soon(Image: Rockstar)When one commenter suggested they didn't believe Rockstar was looking to avoid crunch, Schreier added:"Skepticism is always healthy, but I've been keeping tabs on this for years (since my big 2018 story about Red Dead 2's crunch)."‌"They certainly haven't eliminated *all* overtime but everyone I've talked to at Rockstar says it's night and day from previous projects. If that changes, I'll report on it."Crunch is the process by which developers take on huge amounts of overtime to help get a game finished before its release date, and Schreier's previous reports around the studio's last game, Red Dead Redemption 2, painted a picture of a company where employees would work 100-hour weeks.‌While we're naturally disappointed we won't be playing GTA 6 this year, we are at least thankful that the team at Rockstar Games is able to work on it in a less pressurised environment.Rockstar's statement last week concluded with "We look forward to sharing more information with you soon," so we've got everything crossed we might see a second trailer for the game.The first, which debuted in December 2023, remains the only footage or screenshots Rockstar has released to this point.Article continues belowFor the latest breaking news and stories from across the globe from the Daily Star, sign up for our newsletters.‌‌‌