Reviews
GTA 6 review roundup
Per the gaming press, reviews go live on November 18 — the day before launch. Until then, here is everything on the road to November 19: the official timeline, the preorder records and what to expect from the scores.
Image: Rockstar Games
The road to November 19
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Dec 4, 2023
Trailer 1 — 90.4 million views in 24 hours and three Guinness records, including most-viewed non-music YouTube video in a day.
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May 2, 2025
First delay: from the 2025 window to May 26, 2026. "We are very sorry that this is later than you expected," Rockstar said.
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May 6, 2025
Trailer 2 — 475 million views in 24 hours across platforms: "the biggest video launch of all time," per Rockstar itself.
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Nov 6, 2025
Second delay: to November 19, 2026, announced alongside Take-Two's quarterly earnings.
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Jun 25, 2026
Preorders open — and the game becomes the most pre-ordered ever on both the PlayStation Store and the Xbox Store (confirmed by Sony and Microsoft).
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Aug 27, 2026
"An Extended Look": nearly 27 minutes of PS5 gameplay, premiering on Netflix — around 36 million YouTube views by November.
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Oct 15, 2026
Launch trailer — introducing The Keys region and the original song "Flower in a Hurricane".
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Nov 10, 2026
Preload goes live. In the UK, ISP Virgin Media O2 logged the biggest single-day broadband traffic in its history.
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Nov 19, 2026 · 12:00 AM ET
Worldwide launch on PS5 and Xbox Series X|S. The game has gone gold (finished and sent to production), per Take-Two's CEO — no further delay risk.
The numbers before launch
- Preorders
- Record on both storesThe most pre-ordered game in PlayStation Store and Xbox Store history
- Copies pre-ordered
- ~10 millionPress estimate as of November — not an official figure
- Pre-launch revenue
- $1 billion+Estimate (Sensor Tower, via press)
- Week-one forecast
- 37–51 million copiesAnalysts cited by Bloomberg
- The GTA 5 bar
- $800M on day one2013 — and $1 billion in 3 days, the record of its time
- Edition split
- ~89% pick UltimatePer press estimates
Preorder figures and forecasts are press/analyst estimates, not official Rockstar or Take-Two numbers.
What to expect from the reviews
- When: embargo expected November 18, early morning US time, per Insider Gaming and insider NateTheHate — Rockstar has not officially confirmed the date.
- The August previews: after a July hands-off press event, part of the press came away "seriously impressed" with the Extended Look; other takes were more measured.
- The series bar: GTA 5 sits at 97/100 on Metacritic, among the most acclaimed games ever made.
- The weight of expectation: Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick says he is "optimistic" and that preorders beat expectations — but scores are scores: November 18 answers.
The score board
Updated on November 18, as each outlet publishes:
| Outlet | Score |
|---|---|
| Metacritic (average) | — |
| OpenCritic (average) | — |
| IGN | — |
| GameSpot | — |
| Eurogamer | — |
| The Verge | — |
Last update to this page: Nov 14, 2026.