GTA 6 delay looking increasingly likely

With Grand Theft Auto 6 currently in development with no news of a release date, the recent wave of strike action sweeping the gaming industry may mean it could arrive even later than rumours suggest.

Grand Theft Auto 6 is perhaps one of the most anticipated games of all time and despite no announcements since it was first revealed in February 2022, fans are still feeling the hype. However, with the recent TV and film industry facing major delays due to the SAG-AFTRA strikes, companies such as Rockstar could also be affected which in turn would mean waiting even longer for the next Grand Theft Auto instalment.

Check out what we know about GTA 6 so far below!

The SAG-AFTRA strikes were a way for actors, writers and other industry professionals to campaign for better treatment and pay from major studios. In the gaming industry, several major companies such as Activision Productions, Electronic Arts Productions, Insomniac Games, Epic Games, WB Games hold contracts with SAG-AFTRA. Not only will games from this title be affected but as of September 2023, a second strike was being organised which would aim to "win wage increases and protection from artificial intelligence".

Since then, 27 September saw the end of the writers’ strike which lasted 148 days. As a result, the Writers Guild of America (WGA) strike is now over after details of a new agreement were released. “We can say, with great pride, that this deal is exceptional — with meaningful gains and protections for writers in every sector of the membership,” it read.

However, the SAG-AFTRA strike is separate from the WGA strike and until an agreement is reached, actors will remain on strike. This means that production will be paused until they return and as you can probably guess, this could affect many upcoming releases such as Grand Theft Auto 6. With the game reportedly costing $2 billion to develop, it will definitely need all hands on deck which may not be possible with the ongoing strikes.

With rumours that GTA 6 is expected to receive an announcement this week, development may already be far enough along to not be affected. However, with Rockstar keeping quiet about the latest instalment, we can only guess at a possible launch.