Culture

Things That Happened While We Waited for GTA 6

Updated May 2026

GTA 5 launched on September 17, 2013. GTA 6 launches Fall 2026. That is 13 years. In internet time, that is several civilizations. The "before GTA 6" meme exists because the wait has genuinely been one of the longest in gaming history — and because a lot happened while we sat there refreshing Rockstar's Twitter.

Here is a non-exhaustive record of what the world did while waiting for the next Grand Theft Auto.

2013 — GTA 5 launches. The wait begins.

GTA 5 releases on PS3 and Xbox 360. It sells 11 million copies in 24 hours.
The iPhone 5S launches — the first phone with a 64-bit processor. Your current phone is about 6 generations ahead of it.
Netflix releases its first original series, House of Cards. Streaming as we know it begins.
Bitcoin trades at around $130. By the time GTA 6 launches it has crossed $100,000.
Snapchat has 5 million users. TikTok does not exist.

2014 — Rockstar ports GTA 5 to PS4 and Xbox One.

GTA 5 releases again on PS4 and Xbox One. It sells millions more copies. Rockstar does not announce GTA 6.
The Ice Bucket Challenge dominates social media for an entire summer.
Twitch is acquired by Amazon for $970 million. Game streaming becomes an industry.
The Apple Watch is announced. Smartwatches go from novelty to normal.
Minecraft sells 100 million copies. It is still going.

2015 — GTA Online keeps growing. GTA 6 is nowhere.

GTA Online receives major updates. Rockstar's live service model begins reshaping game development industry-wide.
Star Wars: The Force Awakens releases. A new trilogy begins and ends before GTA 6 comes out.
Fallout 4 ships. An entire generation of open-world games rises and matures before Rockstar's next release.
Drake releases If You're Reading This It's Too Late. Entire musical eras will come and go before GTA 6 arrives.
The first Back to the Future Day passes — October 21, 2015. GTA 6 was not out yet. Marty McFly would have been disappointed.

2016 — A new console generation looms. Still no GTA 6.

Pokémon GO launches and makes people walk outside for exactly three months.
The Nintendo Switch is announced. It will become one of the best-selling consoles ever before GTA 6 ships.
Overwatch launches and redefines team shooters. It will also die before GTA 6 launches.
GTA 5 re-releases on PC. Three platform generations down. Still counting.
Stranger Things season one premieres. Four seasons and a finale will air before GTA 6.

2017 — Red Dead Redemption 2 is teased. GTA 6 is not.

Rockstar teases Red Dead Redemption 2. Fans briefly wonder if GTA 6 is next. It is not.
Fortnite Battle Royale launches in September. An entire genre is born, peaks, and becomes part of the cultural furniture before GTA 6 ships.
The Nintendo Switch releases in March. It will sell 140 million units before GTA 6 comes out.
Spotify passes 100 million users. Streaming kills the download era.
The first AirPods become a fashion statement. Entire headphone fashion cycles complete before GTA 6.

2018 — Red Dead Redemption 2 ships. GTA 6 development quietly begins.

Red Dead Redemption 2 launches in October to a 97 Metacritic score. It is considered one of the greatest games ever made. Rockstar can take their time.
Avengers: Infinity War releases. The entire Infinity Saga concludes before GTA 6 launches.
TikTok launches internationally. A platform that does not exist yet will shape pop culture more than any other before GTA 6 arrives.
Rockstar is reportedly in early development on GTA 6. The studio has 2,000+ employees working across multiple projects.

2019 — The GTA 6 wait becomes a meme. And then a bigger meme.

"Before GTA 6" starts appearing as a punchline. Nobody knows how long it will run.
Disney+ launches. It will produce and cancel dozens of Marvel series before GTA 6 ships.
Area 51 raid meme happens. Internet culture is now moving faster than Rockstar's release schedule.
Game of Thrones ends. People begin and end entire television obsessions in the GTA 6 wait window.
The PS5 is announced. An entire console generation will begin and mature before GTA 6 launches on it.

2020 — A global pandemic. GTA 6 still in development.

COVID-19 changes everything. GTA Online sees record player counts as people stay home.
GTA 5 player counts spike to all-time highs. Fans return to Los Santos while waiting for Leonida.
Among Us goes from obscurity to global phenomenon in three months. That is how fast cultural moments move now.
The PS5 and Xbox Series X launch in November. GTA 6 will target these consoles. They are already two years old by the time the game ships.
Cyberpunk 2077 launches in December in a broken state. The industry learns what a damaged launch can cost. Rockstar takes note.

2021 — GTA 5 goes to PS5. GTA 6 leaks begin.

Rockstar announces GTA 5 is coming to PS5 and Xbox Series X. This is now the fourth console generation for GTA 5.
NFTs peak. An entire financial mania rises and collapses before GTA 6 comes out.
Squid Game releases and becomes the most-watched Netflix show ever in one month. Pop culture now moves in weeks, not years.
Elden Ring development is confirmed. It will release, win Game of the Year, and spawn an entire generation of imitators before GTA 6 ships.

2022 — The biggest gaming leak in history.

In September, 90 videos of early GTA 6 development footage leak online — the largest pre-release leak in gaming history.
Rockstar confirms the leak is real and states it will not affect development.
A teenager is arrested in connection with the hack. He is tried, convicted, and sentenced before GTA 6 comes out.
ChatGPT launches in November. AI becomes a household word. The entire AI industry restructures before GTA 6.
Elden Ring wins Game of the Year. Rockstar watches from a distance.

2023 — The trailer that broke the internet.

On December 4, Rockstar releases GTA 6 Trailer 1 — one day early after it leaked. It gets 93 million views in 24 hours, breaking records for a non-music video on YouTube.
The trailer confirms: Florida setting, Lucia as first female lead, Jason as co-protagonist, Fall 2025 launch window.
The "before GTA 6" meme reaches peak cultural saturation. Wiktionary adds an entry for the phrase.
Taylor Swift's Eras Tour becomes the highest-grossing concert tour in history. It completes and wraps before GTA 6 ships.
Barbenheimer happens. Entire movie cycles complete in the GTA 6 wait window.

2024 — The delay that nobody wanted.

Take-Two reaffirms a Fall 2025 launch on its earnings call in May. Fans exhale briefly.
The Paris Olympics happen. Athletes retire and new ones emerge before GTA 6.
Deadpool and Wolverine earns $1.3 billion. Entire Marvel phases complete before Rockstar ships.
GTA 5 continues to sell. It will end up as one of the five best-selling games in history, fueled entirely by the GTA 6 wait.

2025 — The second delay.

In May 2025, Rockstar announces GTA 6 is delayed from Fall 2025 to Fall 2026. The wait extends by a full year.
Fans who were in high school when GTA 5 launched are now in their mid-20s with jobs and mortgages.
GTA 5 has now been available for 12 years. It is still in the top 20 weekly sellers on PlayStation.
A child born the day GTA 5 launched is now old enough to be in seventh grade.
Rockstar issues a statement: "We are committed to delivering the experience our fans deserve." Translation: Fall 2026.

2026 — The year it finally happens.

GTA 6 is confirmed for Fall 2026. Pre-orders are expected to open mid-year.
Fans who have been waiting since 2013 will finally get to drive through Vice City as Lucia and Jason.
The wait will have lasted longer than most console generations, longer than most presidencies, and longer than the gap between GTA 3 and GTA 5 combined.
It will probably be worth it. Rockstar games usually are.

Why the meme works

The "before GTA 6" format works because the wait has genuinely been extraordinary. Most AAA game sequels ship within 5-7 years. Rockstar took 13. In that window, entire platforms were born and died, streaming replaced downloads, AI reshaped industries, and multiple generations of players went from teenagers to adults.

The meme captures something real: the world moved very fast while Rockstar moved very deliberately. And if Red Dead Redemption 2 taught us anything, it is that deliberate can produce something extraordinary. The wait for GTA 6 has been long enough to become its own cultural artifact — a shared joke that kept millions of people connected across more than a decade.

Fall 2026 is the end of one of gaming's longest waits. Make sure your console is ready.

FAQ

How long is the gap between GTA 5 and GTA 6?

GTA 5 launched September 17, 2013. GTA 6 is scheduled for Fall 2026 — a gap of approximately 13 years. The gap between GTA 4 and GTA 5 was 5 years. The GTA 5 to GTA 6 gap is the longest in the series by a wide margin.

When did Rockstar officially confirm GTA 6?

Rockstar first officially confirmed GTA 6 existed in February 2022, stating "active development for the next entry in the Grand Theft Auto series is well underway." The first trailer released December 4, 2023.

Has GTA 5 really been selling this whole time?

Yes. GTA 5 has sold over 200 million copies as of 2025, making it one of the best-selling entertainment products in history. It has shipped on PS3, Xbox 360, PS4, Xbox One, PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X|S — six platforms over four console generations.

What is the "before GTA 6" meme?

The phrase is used to describe anything that happened during the unusually long wait for GTA 6. "We got [X] before GTA 6" became a shorthand for how absurdly long the development cycle lasted. Wiktionary added a formal entry for the phrase in 2024.

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