GTA 6 has gone a whole year without the release of a new trailer. It was May 2025 when Rockstar set the internet alight with the release of GTA 6 Trailer 2, which itself came over a year after Trailer 1. The wait for Trailer 3 goes on, and fans have certainly struggled to cope. But does GTA 6 even need a Trailer 3 to be successful? As the most anticipated entertainment property of all time, is GTA 6 uniquely positioned to get away with not showing gameplay footage before launch?
That’s the question I put to Take-Two boss Strauss Zelnick ahead of the company’s fiscal year 2026 financial report, and while he kept his cards close to his chest during his response, he did speak generally about all entertainment properties needing to engage consumers ahead of launch, no matter how big. And he used Mission: Impossible and Tom Cruise to make his point.
“Well, look, I mean, Rockstar is going to talk about all things GTA in the fullness of time,” Zelnick began. “So I can speak conceptually only about the marketing of entertainment properties. And I do think no matter how big a franchise is, the consumers need to engage with that prior to release. And I think the motion picture business reflects that as well.
“So if you put out a sequel to Mission: Impossible, trust me, the studio is still going to spend a whole lot of money marketing that title, even though we kind of know what we’re going to get and we know we’re going to see Tom Cruise, and we’re thrilled that we will. Marketing is still an important part of any entertainment release.”
Take-Two has said Rockstar Games will kick off GTA 6 marketing this summer (pre-orders are expected at the same time), and today it committed to the game’s November release date, putting to bed any concerns about a delay. Take-Two said it expects to record revenue of $8-8.2 billion during the 2027 fiscal year, which would amount to a 20% increase on the prior year, primarily due to the launch of GTA 6. Take-Two saw revenue of $6.72 billion during the 2026 financial year, so the GTA 6 effect could be up to $1.5 billion.
Earlier this month, Business Insider reported that Take-Two is estimated to have spent $1-1.5 billion so far on GTA 6. It is also expected to be the biggest entertainment launch of all time, breaking records for video game sales and revenue. Rockstar has yet to announce the price of the game, with the industry waiting to see if GTA 6 will go above $70.
GTA 6 is set for launch on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X and S on November 19, 2026.
Wesley is Director, News at IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.
