Multiple pundits claim GTA 6 has been content complete for a while now, with the coming months dedicated entirely to polishing.

Anyone anticipating Rockstar’s next open world blockbuster, GTA 6, were dealt a punishing blow last week, via an additional six month delay.

After it was previously pushed back from autumn 2025 to May 26 next year, the GTA 5 sequel will now launch on November 19, 2026. Rockstar provided only the shortest of explanation for the delay, saying ‘these extra months will allow us to finish the game with the level of polish you have come to expect and deserve’.

Several insiders now claim the sequel is actually content complete, with this next year dedicated entirely to polishing and optimising.

Speaking about the delay on the Insider Gaming podcast, insider Tom Henderson said: ‘From what I’ve heard, it’s been content ready for a very long time.’

This same sentiment was echoed by Reece Reilly, aka Kiwi Talkz, who posted on X: ‘The game is content complete, all the work from here on out is optimising the hell out of it and making sure all the systems work to prevent a Cyberpunk [2077] scenario.’

While it’s worth taking these comments with a pinch of salt, the idea that polishing and bug fixing can take that long has already been well established at other companies. Nintendo, for example, took over a year to polish The Legend Of Zelda: Tears Of The Kingdom.

Based on past Rockstar games, GTA 6 will be on a similar scale – if not bigger – than Nintendo’s open world classic, so it makes sense to dedicate as much time as possible to ironing out all the bugs.

Recently, former Rockstar boss Dan Houser explained how Zelda has been a big influence on GTA ever since the series transitioned to 3D. So it’s more than likely that Rockstar read the reports of Nintendo’s polishing schedule with great interest.

When is GTA 5 coming back to PS Plus?

In the meantime, If you’re a PlayStation Plus Extra or Premium subscriber wanting to jump back into GTA 5, you might be able to give it a spin for free real soon. According to reliable insider billbil-kun, GTA 5 will return to the service from November 18, for a limited time.

GTA 5 was previously available to PlayStation Plus Extra and Premium subscribers in December 2023 and November 2024 for a six month period, so it’s likely to return for the same amount of time. An announcement is expected on Wednesday, November 12.

It will be many years until GTA 6 comes to PS Plus but its predecessor has been on and off multiple times, tempting players into trying GTA Online and then buying the complete game for themselves.

GTA 6 will be out next Christmas, maybe (Rockstar Games)

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