Fans of the Grand Theft Auto franchise are eagerly anticipating the commencement of pre-orders for the highly awaited GTA 6. Rockstar Games is set to unveil the title in Fall 2025, stirring excitement among enthusiasts who expect pre-orders to begin soon. Nevertheless, specific details regarding the pre-order launch remain undisclosed.
While Rockstar has yet to announce an official start date for GTA 6 pre-orders, analyzing trends from previous major game releases can provide some insights into what to expect moving forward.
Speculating on the Start Date for GTA 6 Pre-Orders
The last entry in the Grand Theft Auto series, GTA 5, was launched on September 17, 2013. Pre-orders for this title opened one year earlier, on November 5, 2012, just days ahead of the release of its second trailer. Interestingly, at that time, its launch was still set for Spring 2013 rather than the eventual September release.
Following GTA 5, Rockstar Games released Red Dead Redemption 2 on October 26, 2018. Pre-orders for this game began in June 2018, shortly after the release of its third trailer. Notably, Red Dead Redemption 2 initially had a scheduled launch for Spring 2018, which was subsequently pushed back to the fall.
This pattern indicates that Rockstar might prefer to finalize a release date before initiating pre-orders—a contrast to the approach taken with GTA 5. Currently, GTA 6 is targeted for a Fall 2025 release, and speculative chatter suggests that its second trailer could debut in April 2025. Should this timeline hold true, we can likely anticipate pre-orders to commence shortly thereafter.
This release strategy would parallel the timeline seen with Red Dead Redemption 2 and closely resemble the original plans for GTA 5. Additionally, launching pre-orders in April could strategically position them around the release of competing titles, such as Mafia: The Old Country this summer and Borderlands 4 on September 23, 2025. As both games fall under the Take-Two Interactive umbrella, maintaining a careful distance from these releases could be advantageous for sales optimization.