GTA6 postponed to 2026! Polymarket predicts: Second Coming of Jesus vs playing the game first

Rockstar Games suddenly announced that “Grand Theft Auto 6” (GTA6) will be delayed again, with the latest release date set for November 19, 2026, in order to polish the game to meet standards. As soon as the news broke, well-known Twitch streamer IShowSpeed broke down live. The cryptocurrency prediction market platform Polymarket has seen a surge in popular predictions.

GTA6 Delay Shocks the Global Gaming Community, Streamers Collapse into Memes

(Source: Youtube)

Rockstar Games has leveraged its “corporate ancestral culture” to announce the postponement of GTA6 without any prior warning. This is not the first time for players worldwide. If GTA6 is indeed able to make its debut on November 19, 2026, it will be 13 years and 2 months since the initial release of GTA 5 on September 17, 2013. This development cycle is nearing the record for the longest sequel development in gaming history.

The reaction of the well-known Twitch streamer IShowSpeed became the best epitome of this delay incident. The 20-year-old streamer completely broke down emotionally after learning the news during a live broadcast, saying, “By the time GTA6 comes out, I might already be 50 years old and married with kids!” This breakdown clip quickly went viral on social media, becoming new meme material. Many players expressed their sympathy when retweeting, believing this is the common voice of players worldwide.

The collapse of Speed is not an isolated incident. On Reddit, Twitter, and various gaming forums, players have expressed their disappointment and anger. Some have created a “Days Until GTA6” countdown timer, while others jokingly said their children could graduate from elementary school by now. Some have simply given up on waiting, stating, “Anyway, we can't trust the release dates that R Star announces.” This collective sense of frustration reflects players' dissatisfaction with R Star's repeated delays.

Polymarket Coin Circle Meme: Will Jesus Return or Will GTA6 Arrive First

The delay of GTA6 is not only a big deal in the gaming community, but even the crypto community is trying to ride the wave. Under R Star's announcement post, various crypto editors are playing with the meme, like Solana Mobile commenting: “We have produced 2 Solana phones, before the announcement of the GTA6 delay.” This self-deprecating humor highlights that the delay of GTA6 has become a cross-disciplinary cultural phenomenon.

The most eye-catching is the blockchain prediction market platform Polymarket, where their editor directly asked: “Before we get to play GTA6, Jesus will come again, right?” This response echoes a previous popular prediction on Polymarket titled “What will happen before GTA VI?” As of the time of writing, players are betting on the probability of “the return of Jesus Christ” at 49%, while the probability of “Bitcoin rising to 1 million dollars” is at 48%.

This prediction, although filled with a sense of jest, also reflects players' helplessness regarding the seemingly endless wait for the release of GTA6. Polymarket, as a decentralized prediction market, allows users to bet on various events, ranging from political elections to Crypto Assets prices, and even on this kind of half-joking “religious event vs game release”. The nearly 50/50 distribution of predictions shows that players are truly uncertain whether GTA6 will be released as scheduled in 2026.

Interestingly, this prediction has also attracted participation from non-gamers. Some crypto assets investors believe that the likelihood of Bitcoin rising to 1 million dollars is actually higher than that of GTA6 being released on time. Others jokingly said that if Jesus really comes again, at least we won't have to wait for GTA6 anymore. This kind of dark humor has become a common emotional outlet for both the coin community and the gaming community.

The Layoff Turmoil and Union Protests Behind the Delay of GTA6

Before R Star announced the delay, the relevant studio had just experienced layoffs. According to a report from Dexerto, R Star fired 30 to 40 developers on the grounds of serious misconduct (leaking confidential information), but the dismissed developers retaliated that this was an act against the union. This incident has led to speculation about whether the delay is related to internal chaos.

An anonymous employee using the pseudonym “Organize” posted on the GTA forum and has proven to the moderator their identity as a senior Rockstar employee and union member. They pointed out that the 34 developers who were recently laid off were mostly senior key players within the company, including positions such as chief artist, designer, producer, and department heads. The whistleblower indicated that the company summoned these employees under the pretext of a “brief friendly conversation” and immediately issued layoff notices without providing just cause, and also refused to allow them to be accompanied by a union representative during the meeting, in violation of UK labor laws.

Organize believes that the layoffs are not a coincidence, but are related to the fact that the internal union at Rockstar has surpassed 200 members and has the qualifications to negotiate with upper management. He admitted that the company has long-standing issues such as “overwork hours,” “low salaries,” and “rigid management systems,” and that the company has not attempted to resolve these issues, but instead chose to suppress labor organization. This has led to a pervasive atmosphere of fear and insecurity within the company. “Everyone is even afraid to admit they participated in the protests; morale has already hit rock bottom.”

Two Explanations for the Delay of GTA6

Official statement: To polish the game to meet standards and avoid a repeat of the disaster of “Cyberpunk 2077”.

Internal Leak: The layoff of 34 senior developers has hindered development progress, causing morale to plummet.

However, a game industry insider who previously leaked information about the development status of GTA6, Kiwi Talkz, has once again reported that the reason for the delay of GTA6 is unrelated to layoffs, and reiterated: “The content of the GTA6 game has already been completed, and the work from now on is to fully optimize it and ensure that all systems can operate normally, to prevent a repeat of the disaster of Cyberpunk 2077.”

Cyberpunk 2077 The Aftermath of the Tragedy Still Lingers, Self-Mockingly Responding to Rockstar

Players familiar with the gaming market in recent years may recall the launch situation of the highly anticipated title “Cyberpunk 2077”. At that time, the developer CDPR released what can be described as an unfinished version, which not only had a lot of bugs, was prone to crashes, and had less content than advertised, resulting in negative game reviews. It wasn't until the recent years, thanks to the DLC “Phantom Liberty” and “Cyberpunk: Edgerunners”, that the game's reputation slowly began to recover.

Interestingly, the official account of “Cyberpunk 2077” also responded to Rockstar's announcement of the delay by resharing their own post from before the game's launch in 2020: “There will be no more delays.” While poking fun at their own past, they also made a joke at the expense of their peers at Rockstar. This self-deprecating attitude has been praised by players, with many commenting in the reply section, “At least CDPR has learned to reflect,” and “This response is too funny.”

R Star's choice to delay may have been a lesson learned from “Cyberpunk 2077”. They would rather bear the disappointment of players than repeat the mistake of releasing a half-finished product filled with bugs.

If GTA6 is delayed again, it may set a Guinness World Record

The official Guinness World Records states that the record for the longest game development cycle in history is held by “Duke Nukem Forever.” This game was announced on April 28, 1997, and was considered a sequel to “Duke Nukem 3D,” but it wasn't officially released until June 10, 2011, totaling a duration of 14 years and 43 days.

There is still a year to go until the promised listing date for R Star. Will they uphold the company's tradition of delaying again and challenge the Guinness World Record? Players can stay tuned.