That little postponement shaved more than $4 billion off the company’s market value as investors decided they’d had a gutsful of waiting.

The publisher had already shifted the game’s release from autumn 2025 to May 2026, and now it’s missing that window too. This means what was supposed to be the gaming industry’s great revival moment will have to wait until the next financial year. So much for saving console gaming from its post-pandemic slump.

Some analysts had forecast GTA VI would rake in $3 billion in its first year. Now they'll have to rejig the spreadsheets while pretending this is all fine.

Take-Two buried the announcement in its second-quarter earnings, offering no real reason for the delay. All the company could muster was some vague hype about Rockstar Games being on track to “deliver an unrivalled blockbuster entertainment experience”. 

The company now reckons its 2027 fiscal year will break records thanks to the delayed launch, setting a new “baseline” for its business. Which is corporate speak for “please stop selling our shares.”

Investors weren't convinced. Shares dropped nearly 10 per cent in after-hours trading, hitting their lowest point in over two months.

Even with a 31 per cent revenue jump in the latest quarter, driven by NBA 2K and Borderlands 4, the group’s net loss was still a disappointing $134 million. The outlook for 2026 was a mixed bag, too: revenue was up, but losses are likely to keep piling on.