GTA 6 on Oct. 22: What Rockstar Has Confirmed, the Thursday Pattern and Every Date Until the Nov. 19 Launch

Rockstar Games has not announced anything for Thursday, Oct. 22. The date is getting attention because Rockstar has posted Grand Theft Auto (GTA) VI news on a string of recent Thursdays, most recently the Launch Trailer on Oct. 15, and gaming sites including GameRant expect the next update on Oct. 22. Rockstar has not said it follows a weekly schedule. What is official is the calendar: the game launches Thursday, Nov. 19, 2026, on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S, and pre-loading opens a week earlier.

What Rockstar and Take-Two have confirmed

These come from Take-Two Interactive’s pre-order announcement of June 24, 2026, and from Rockstar’s official game page as of Oct. 20.

Item	Confirmed detail
Launch	Thursday, Nov. 19, 2026
Platforms	PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S
Price	$79.99; Ultimate Edition $99.99
Pre-load	From Nov. 12 for digital pre-orders
Boxed edition	On sale Nov. 12; a download code in the box, no disc
Pre-order bonus	Vintage Vice City Pack with any purchase before Nov. 20; a free month of GTA+ with digital pre-orders
Stores	PlayStation Store, Microsoft Store, Rockstar Games Store and retailers
Rating	M for Mature 17+ (Entertainment Software Rating Board)

The Ultimate Edition adds premium vehicles, weapons, apparel and other items, Take-Two said. GTA+ is Rockstar’s paid membership for GTA Online, and its games library includes Grand Theft Auto V. Rockstar’s page lists the game as playing best on PlayStation 5.

The Thursday pattern so far

Rockstar’s late-summer and fall announcements have mostly landed on Thursdays. The dated ones we could confirm on Rockstar’s Newswire and the PlayStation Blog:

Date	What came out
Thu., Aug. 27	“An Extended Look” premiered on Netflix at 3 p.m. Eastern Time (ET), then on YouTube and the game’s site at 9 p.m. ET
Thu., Sept. 3	Two Limited Edition DualSense controllers for PlayStation 5, $84.99 each, on sale Nov. 19
Thu., Sept. 10	Controller pre-orders opened at 10 a.m. local time
Thu., Oct. 8	The in-game radio stations, and a GTA 6 apparel collection at the Rockstar Store
Thu., Oct. 15	The Launch Trailer

Rockstar also announced “Grand Theft Auto VI: The Album,” made with Atlantic Records and released Nov. 19 alongside the game, and a collector’s box called The Goodtime State, Vice City Collection. CanIRun.gg’s tracker counts four Thursdays left before launch: Oct. 22, Oct. 29, Nov. 5 and Nov. 12. The last is also pre-load day.

What Oct. 22 could and could not mean

Nobody outside Rockstar knows what, if anything, is coming on Oct. 22. The company has not teased a reveal, and GameRant’s report rests on the pattern, not on any announcement. Past Thursdays brought trailers, music and merchandise rather than changes to the date or price, and Take-Two’s Aug. 7 earnings release repeated the Nov. 19 launch.

If something does arrive, it will be on the Rockstar Newswire and the game’s official site first. Unofficial “release time” claims circulate online; the pre-order announcement gives Nov. 12 for pre-loading but no hour, so treat any exact start time that is not on a Rockstar or console-store page as unconfirmed.

Every date until launch

Date	What happens
Thu., Oct. 22	No announcement scheduled; Rockstar’s usual news day
Thu., Oct. 29	Next Thursday before launch
Sun., Nov. 1	Clocks fall back one hour in the U.S.
Thu., Nov. 5	Thursday before results week
Mon., Nov. 9	Take-Two reports quarterly results after the market close; call at 4:30 p.m. ET
Thu., Nov. 12	Pre-loading opens for digital pre-orders; boxed edition on sale
Thu., Nov. 19	Launch on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S; the album and the DualSense controllers also arrive
Fri., Nov. 20	Purchases from this day on no longer include the Vintage Vice City Pack

The Nov. 9 report covers the quarter that ended Sept. 30 and is Take-Two’s last before launch. Thanksgiving falls a week after release, on Nov. 26; our Thanksgiving 2026 guide has what is closed that day.

What is not confirmed

• A PC version. Rockstar has not announced one, and Take-Two’s August lineup lists only PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S. Some outlets have reported a later PC release based on unnamed sources; Rockstar has not commented on them.
• A start time for pre-loading or launch. The official announcement gives dates only.
• Download size. Check the PlayStation Store or Microsoft Store listing before Nov. 12, since the boxed edition also downloads the game.

Plan the countdown

Our free countdown calendar runs from Oct. 18 to Nov. 21 with the days left in every box and the confirmed dates marked. Pin it next to an October or November 2026 printable calendar, or plan the launch week on a weekly planner. For everything else on the calendar this month, see our November 2026 important dates, and if you are shipping a controller or a copy as a gift, check the USPS holiday shipping deadlines.