Rockstar’s Grand Theft Auto 6 is 2026’s most anticipated game, and perhaps it is the most anticipated game in history. People want to know everything there is to know about it, and that includes information about its unannounced but expected online mode. A new report says the game’s online mode won’t launch alongside the game in November 2026, and that would be no surprise.
History suggests a staggered launch between GTA 6 and its expected online mode, lending credence to the report.
Historical precedent
Grand Theft Auto 5 launched on September 17, 2013, and its online mode–GTA Online–was released on October 1, meaning players had to wait two weeks to play it. Its success in the decade since then has been well documented.
For Red Dead Redemption 2, the Red Dead Online mode launched on November 27, 2018, which was 32 days after Red Dead Redemption 2 launched on October 26. Red Dead Online launched as a beta product, and Rockstar told fans to expect “teething problems.” Red Dead Online stayed in beta until May 20, 2019.
GTA Online became a genuine phenomenon, helping GTA 5 enjoy sustained sales over the years, leading to more than 210 million copies sold and counting. Rockstar released a standalone version of GTA Online in 2022 for $10.
Red Dead Online was comparatively less successful, and fans have complained about a lack of new content. The game does still get new updates, including seasonal content (and some recycled content as well). The game’s latest update came out this past March. Red Dead Redemption 2 has sold more than 82 million copies and ranks as one of the top 10 best-selling games of all time. Rockstar did not release a standalone version of Red Dead Online.
TheGhostofHope, who was known for leaking Call of Duty information prior to Activision coming after him to demand that he stop, has said GTA 6’s online mode will debut “within a month” after the game comes out on November 19. If it’s true, then players can expect it at some point between late-November and mid-December.
What will GTA 6 Online be?
To be sure, Rockstar Games has not announced any online functionality whatsoever for GTA 6 as of yet, but it’s a safe bet the game will indeed offer some kind of online experience following the incredible success of GTA Online for GTA 5.
It’s been suggested that GTA Online and any potential new version for GTA 6 will co-exist. In 2025, Take-Two boss Strauss Zelnick told IGN the company’s studios have “shown a willingness to support legacy titles when a community wants to be engaged with them.” He wasn’t speaking specifically about a potential GTA Online 2, but reading between the lines, it sounds like Rockstar would continue to support GTA Online–at least in some capacity–even after GTA 6 comes out.
GTA Online has a passionate and dedicated fanbase–and that group of people continue to spend money on the game’s various microtransactions. For Take-Two’s latest quarter, the company said GTA Online was one of the top contributors to revenue from what the company calls “recurrent consumer spending.” Zelnick previously referred to GTA Online as “the gift that keeps on giving” as it relates to the money it makes.
There are no official details available yet about what new innovations GTA 6’s online mode could include, but Zelnick has said user-generated content (UGC) is an “interesting opportunity” for the company generally speaking. In 2023, Rockstar acquired Cfx.re, the maker of the FiveM and RedM mods for GTA Online, with fans theorizing this buyout could play a part in GTA 6’s online mode, too.
Fortnite and Roblox have heavily invested in UGC, and Rockstar has dabbled in the market, too, with the Rockstar Creator tool. It’s possible Rockstar could expand upon this with whatever is coming with GTA 6.
When will we learn more about GTA 6?
Everyone wants to know when Rockstar might share more information about GTA 6, but there is no word on that yet. Rockstar sometimes makes announcements near Take-Two’s earnings announcements, and the next one is expected at some point in mid-May, with a date to be announced soon. GTA 6 is expected to be a massive contributor to Take-Two’s revenue when it’s released. Anything is possible for when Rockstar might share more GTA 6 information, however.
So far, Rockstar has released two trailers for GTA 6, arriving in December 2023 and May 2025, respectively. It was also in May 2025 that Rockstar published a new GTA 6 website with hundreds of screenshots and numerous more details about the game’s world.
The marketing push for GTA 6 will begin this summer, so it’s likely fans won’t have to wait much longer to see more of the game, in some form at least. GTA 6 launches on November 19 for PS5 and Xbox Series X|S.