Following Rockstar’s announcement that GTA 6 has been delayed to May 2026, former World of Warcraft team lead Mark Kern weighed in with insider insight.
Rumors and speculation have been swirling that the delay might actually be do to game devs removing woke DEI content. At the same time, it’s also rumored they have been adding that type of content to make it less crude toward minorities and transgenders.
According to Kern, aka Grummz on X, sources close to development say the delay isn’t related to DEI, as some speculate, but rather to give the team more time for polish.
What’s more surprising, says Kern, is that most of the devs reportedly have no clue what’s really going on.
Kern: GTA 6 Delay Is About Polish—Not DEI
Following the new trailer release, Kern posted on X about what he knows about the GTA VI delay.
“It’s not to remove DEI (supposedly),” tweeted Kern. “There is a lot of speculation, but I do have a couple people who are close to the development of the game, but take this with a grain of salt: – The game is looking good, but they just want to take the year to really polish it. Most people on the dev team have no idea if this is DEI related, but don’t think so.”
Kern continued with mention that the game is so big that the devs don’t even know everything.
“But get this, most devs don’t know the reason. The team is so massive and AAA devs are so isolated from the game vision, that they literally have no idea if there is any truth to the rumor. They don’t even know the full story of the game, or seem to play the daily builds enough to know what is changing,” said Kern.
Kern continued, “Unless you are on the story team, these devs are said to have no real visibility into if their game is being story reworked or not. That’s pretty astounding. AAA teams used to be smaller and much more involved in the strategy and vision of the game they are making. And I think this is a big reason why you can feel the lack of passion in modern AAA games vs smaller AA teams.“
Kern also added in another tweet that the budget for Grand Theft Auto VI is $2 billion.
Here is what I know about the GTA VI delay, and it's not to remove DEI (supposedly).
— Grummz (@Grummz) May 6, 2025
There is a lot of speculation, but I do have a couple people who are close to the development of the game, but take this with a grain of salt:
– The game is looking good, but they just want to…
The budget for GTA 6 is 2 billion.
— Grummz (@Grummz) May 6, 2025
Not joking. https://t.co/o2MhElXuhN
GTA 6 delayed to 2026
Rockstar Games games officially announced Friday that GTA VI will be released on May 26, 2026.
“Grand Theft Auto VI is now set to release on May 26, 2026,” said Rockstar Games. “We are very sorry that this is later than you expected. The interest and excitement surrounding a new Grand Theft Auto has been truly humbling for our entire team. We want to thank you for your support and your patience as we work to finish the game.”
The announcement on the website and social media continued, “With every game we have released, the goal has always been to try and exceed your expectations, and Grand Theft Auto VI is no exception. We hope you understand that we need this extra time to deliver at the level of quality you expect and deserve.“
Grand Theft Auto VI is now set to release on May 26, 2026. https://t.co/YgaIn1cYc8 pic.twitter.com/cyeK7GM6Ob
— Rockstar Games (@RockstarGames) May 2, 2025
