Rob Nelson, Co-Head of Studio and Development Director at Rockstar North, confirmed that the main development of GTA VI is essentially complete, with the team now in the final polishing phase. As the release date approaches, developers are permitted to make fewer daily adjustments, though subsequent fixes are not entirely finished.
Nelson summarized the game's current state by saying, "It's ready." He stated that the modifications, testing, and reworks carried out over the years are gradually coming to an end, and the team must now learn to let go of the project and hand it over to players.
Art Director Aaron Garbut expressed that he is more satisfied with this title than any other game he has worked on. Following Grand Theft Auto V and Red Dead Redemption 2, the studio was unwilling to merely replicate previous standards, so they made no compromises in terms of scale, detail, interactivity, narrative, and open-world construction.
Throughout its years of development, Rockstar has conducted testing in cycles of approximately six to eight weeks. After each cycle, employees play the new build and submit thousands of feedback items, leading to improvements or reworks of certain content, while other elements are removed entirely.
GTA VI is scheduled to launch on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S on November 19, 2026. The "completion" mentioned by the Development Director refers to the end of main development; the team is currently wrapping up, with the scope for changes gradually narrowing.