Strauss Zelnick Lifts Gta 6 Pre Order to Nov. 19
gta 6 pre order now points to Nov. 19, after Grand Theft Auto VI was pushed back several times. Strauss Zelnick, the CEO of Take-Two Interactive Software, is betting the game's scale can still justify a launch tied to one of the biggest budgets in the business.
Business Insider estimated development at between $1 billion and $1.5 billion. That sits against a market worth $219 billion in 2024, with 19,000 games released for consoles and PC in 2023, up from just under 2,000 in 2014.
Strauss Zelnick and Take-Two
Zelnick has led Take-Two since 2011, a stretch that has coincided with a stock price rise of more than 1,600%, from about $12 per share to $216 per share. Take-Two's 2025 full-year net revenue reached $5.6 billion, compared with less than $1 billion before he took over.
He also offered a blunt view of the job. “I don’t think being consumer-in-chief really helps a CEO be effective in this business,” he told Business Insider, adding that the development “was expensive.”
Grand Theft Auto V Numbers
Grand Theft Auto V made $1 billion in sales in three days in 2013 and has sold more than 215 million units. Those numbers are the backdrop for why a single release date change draws so much attention across the market, especially when the sequel is still carrying a budget that could reach $1.5 billion.
Rockstar Games, a wholly owned subsidiary of Take-Two, is developing Grand Theft Auto VI, and Zelnick said Rockstar does not participate in crunch. That keeps the focus on launch timing rather than emergency production tactics, with Nov. 19 now carrying the weight of the franchise's next major test.
November 19 Release
The game was originally scheduled for the fall of 2025, then moved to May 2026 before landing on Nov. 19. For consumers, that means the wait has already stretched through two prior launch windows; for Take-Two, the next move is execution, not more calendar reshuffling.
