Grand Theft Auto 6 is likely set to become 2026’s biggest game, but it might be repeating a release pattern similar to Grand Theft Auto 5 13 years ago. In an interview with Bloomberg yesterday, Twitch CEO Dan Clancy made a statement claiming the multiplayer mode for Rockstar’s upcoming open-world game will be launching in 2027 instead of this year. Discussing how he has been talking with various publishers and developers at this year’s Tokyo Games Show, Clancy noted that everyone is either delaying games or releasing them early to get away from the “vortex” that is GTA6. According to him, that whirlpool will extend into January at the very least.

What Did Clancy Say?

“We spent a lot of time talking with Rockstar about their plans, and also helping them think about how they can engage our creators,” Clancy notes. “You are going to see this big bump with GTA 6, but then an even bigger one next year when they launch multiplayer.” He then goes on to discuss how this will impact Twitch viewership, but that brings up an interesting parallel with its predecessor. Grand Theft Auto Online’s release did not coincide with the PS3 and Xbox 360 releases of Grand Theft Auto 5 in 2013. It came two weeks later as Rockstar was preparing its servers for an influx of players.

What Does This Mean?

It was no surprise that the evolution of Grand Theft Auto online would not be releasing with Grand Theft Auto 6 on November 19, 2026. Rockstar made that abundantly clear and hasn’t really spoken about when it intends to launch the multiplayer component. Clancy’s comment gives us a pretty decent timeframe for when we can expect things, but would Rockstar really wait an additional two or three months? GTA Online is still immensely popular, and Take-Two (parent company of Rockstar) CEO Strauss Zelnick stated in a recent shareholding meeting, “we will continue to support GTA Online after GTA 6 release and beyond.” Maybe the company is looking at a way to reward longtime players with additional content or currency for sticking with the franchise for so long. It could also mean that the next GTA Online winds up being an entirely standalone experience which requires another purchase instead of being bundled with GTA 6.

Last Word On GTA 6’s Multiplayer Launching In 2027

For what it’s worth, I do believe there is some legitimacy to Clancy’s claims. Being a CEO of a major streaming platform, he would have insight into behind-the-scenes makings like this. He is clearly in discussion with Rockstar regarding the current GTA Online, so why would they exclude him from talks about the next one? There might even be some kind of audience integration with the mode, a plug-in that has become popular with indie games and the like. The thought that sticks out to me the most is that Rockstar is working within our current oversaturated market to technically launch Grand Theft Auto 6 twice.

What I mean is, come November 19, GTA 6 is going to dominate the internet for a couple of months. It will be hard to go anywhere without seeing some kind of coverage, review, insight, take, etc., on the game. People have been trained to have shorter attention spans, though, so the fervour around the game’s launch might die off by January 2027. By delaying the release of the online component, Rockstar can effectively relaunch GTA 6 and spark an extra wave of media coverage that would be missed otherwise. I’m not sure if it will wait that long into 2027, but this makes sense.