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  "id": "strauss-zelnick",
  "name": "Strauss Zelnick",
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    {
      "slug": "gta-6-release",
      "title": "Grand Theft Auto VI: From 'Well Underway' to Two Delays, the $79.99 Price and the November 19 Launch",
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      "role": "Take-Two's chief executive, who has discussed the need for added polish and characterized early pre-orders as unprecedented.",
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      "updated_at": "2026-10-14T06:32:37.570147+00:00"
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    {
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      "id": 954,
      "url": "https://whatledto.com/events/gta-6-release#n954",
      "date": "2026-08-07",
      "date_precision": "day",
      "title": "Q1 FY2027: Zelnick calls pre-orders 'unprecedented and astonishing' but won't claim victory",
      "summary": "Take-Two reported $1.39 billion of first-quarter bookings and reiterated the $8.0 to $8.2 billion outlook and the November 19 date. On the call Zelnick said the five days of pre-orders in the quarter had been an exceptional start, unprecedented and astonishing, but so unprecedented that the company did not know how they would translate into sales and would not claim victory before it occurred.",
      "type": "financial",
      "entities": [
        "Take-Two Interactive",
        "Strauss Zelnick",
        "Grand Theft Auto VI"
      ],
      "parties": [
        "take-two-interactive",
        "strauss-zelnick",
        "grand-theft-auto-vi"
      ],
      "sources": [
        {
          "url": "https://www.take2games.com/ir/news/take-two-interactive-software-inc-reports-results-fiscal-first-6",
          "outlet": "Take-Two Interactive",
          "published": "2026-08-07",
          "quote": "With these positive trends and excitement around the November 19th launch of Grand Theft Auto VI, we are reiterating our Fiscal 2027 Net Bookings outlook of $8.0 to $8.2 billion."
        },
        {
          "url": "https://variety.com/2026/gaming/news/gta-6-preorder-sales-take-two-earnings-1236829396/",
          "outlet": "Variety",
          "published": "2026-08-07",
          "quote": "“I can say that the level of preorders is unprecedented and astonishing, and we’re very grateful for that,” Zelnick said. “But they are so unprecedented that we just don’t know how it’ll translate into sales, which is a question I answered earlier."
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "timeline": "gta-6-release",
      "id": 951,
      "url": "https://whatledto.com/events/gta-6-release#n951",
      "date": "2026-05-21",
      "date_precision": "day",
      "title": "Fiscal 2026: record $6.72 billion bookings, and $8.0 to $8.2 billion guided for the GTA VI year",
      "summary": "Take-Two closed fiscal 2026 with record net bookings of $6.72 billion, about $750 million above its initial guidance, and told investors fiscal 2027 would set new records driven by the November 19 launch, guiding $8.0 to $8.2 billion. The guidance locked the date in financially: a third delay would push the year's centerpiece out of the fiscal year.",
      "type": "financial",
      "entities": [
        "Take-Two Interactive",
        "Strauss Zelnick",
        "Grand Theft Auto VI"
      ],
      "parties": [
        "take-two-interactive",
        "strauss-zelnick",
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      "sources": [
        {
          "url": "https://www.take2games.com/ir/news/take-two-interactive-software-inc-reports-results-fourth-2",
          "outlet": "Take-Two Interactive",
          "published": "2026-05-21",
          "quote": "We believe Fiscal 2027 will establish new record levels of operating performance driven by the November 19th launch of Grand Theft Auto VI, along with strong execution across our portfolio."
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "timeline": "gta-6-release",
      "id": 950,
      "url": "https://whatledto.com/events/gta-6-release#n950",
      "date": "2025-11-06",
      "date_precision": "day",
      "title": "Second delay: November 19, 2026, 'to finish the game with the level of polish you have come to expect'",
      "summary": "With Take-Two's second-quarter results, Rockstar moved the game another six months to Thursday, November 19, 2026, apologizing for adding to a long wait. Zelnick said Rockstar believed a limited amount of additional time was required for polish, and that fiscal 2027 would still set record bookings. The announcement came a day after Rockstar dismissed 30 to 40 UK staff it said had shared confidential information, which a union called union-busting.",
      "type": "delay",
      "entities": [
        "Rockstar Games",
        "Take-Two Interactive",
        "Strauss Zelnick",
        "Grand Theft Auto VI"
      ],
      "parties": [
        "rockstar-games",
        "take-two-interactive",
        "strauss-zelnick",
        "grand-theft-auto-vi"
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      "sources": [
        {
          "url": "https://gameinformer.com/2025/11/06/grand-theft-auto-vi-release-date-delayed-to-november-2026",
          "outlet": "Game Informer",
          "published": "2025-11-06",
          "quote": "Hi everyone, Grand Theft Auto VI will now release on Thursday, November 19, 2026. We are sorry for adding additional time to what we realize has been a long wait, but these extra months will allow us to finish the game with the level of polish you have come to expect and deserve."
        },
        {
          "url": "https://www.take2games.com/ir/news/take-two-interactive-software-inc-reports-results-fiscal-3",
          "outlet": "Take-Two Interactive",
          "published": "2025-11-06",
          "quote": "Rockstar Games will now release Grand Theft Auto VI on November 19, 2026, and we remain both excited and confident they will deliver an unrivalled blockbuster entertainment experience. With the most robust pipeline in our Company’s history, we expect to achieve record levels of Net Bookings in Fiscal 2027, which will establish a new baseline for our business and set us on a path of enhanced profitability.”"
        },
        {
          "url": "https://variety.com/2025/gaming/news/gta-6-release-delayed-november-2026-1236571679/",
          "outlet": "Variety",
          "published": "2025-11-06",
          "quote": "“In this instance, of course, we’re seeking to release the most extraordinary title anyone’s ever seen in the history of entertainment,” Zelnick told Variety in an interview ahead of the announcement Thursday. “That’s a tall order. And in this instance, Rockstar Games believes a limited amount of additional time is required for polish to support that view.”"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "timeline": "gta-6-release",
      "id": 948,
      "url": "https://whatledto.com/events/gta-6-release#n948",
      "date": "2025-05-02",
      "date_precision": "day",
      "title": "First delay: from fall 2025 to May 26, 2026; Take-Two shares fall 8 percent",
      "summary": "Rockstar said the game was now set for May 26, 2026, apologized that it was later than expected and said it needed the extra time to deliver at the level of quality expected. Take-Two, which had built fiscal 2026 around the launch, said it fully supported the decision and reiterated sequential bookings growth for 2026 and 2027; the stock dropped 8 percent at the open.",
      "type": "delay",
      "entities": [
        "Rockstar Games",
        "Take-Two Interactive",
        "Strauss Zelnick",
        "Grand Theft Auto VI"
      ],
      "parties": [
        "rockstar-games",
        "take-two-interactive",
        "strauss-zelnick",
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      ],
      "sources": [
        {
          "url": "https://www.rockstargames.com/newswire/article/258aa538o412ok/grand-theft-auto-vi-is-now-coming-may-26-2026",
          "outlet": "Rockstar Games",
          "published": "2025-05-02",
          "quote": "Grand Theft Auto VI is now set to release on May 26, 2026. We are very sorry that this is later than you expected."
        },
        {
          "url": "https://www.cnn.com/2025/05/02/tech/gta-6-release-delayed-may-2026",
          "outlet": "CNN (Reuters)",
          "published": "2025-05-02",
          "quote": "Take-Two Interactive on Friday pushed the release of “Grand Theft Auto VI” to May 26, 2026, extending the wait for the most hotly anticipated title in video-gaming history and sending its shares tumbling 8% in early trading."
        },
        {
          "url": "https://www.cnn.com/2025/05/02/tech/gta-6-release-delayed-may-2026",
          "outlet": "CNN (Reuters)",
          "published": "2025-05-02",
          "quote": "“We support fully Rockstar Games taking additional time to realize their creative vision for Grand Theft Auto VI, which promises to be a groundbreaking blockbuster entertainment experience,” Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick said."
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "timeline": "gta-6-release",
      "id": 947,
      "url": "https://whatledto.com/events/gta-6-release#n947",
      "date": "2024-05-16",
      "date_precision": "day",
      "title": "Take-Two narrows the window to fall 2025 while posting a $2.9 billion quarterly loss",
      "summary": "With its fiscal 2024 results, Take-Two said Rockstar was targeting fall 2025 for GTA VI on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series, narrowing the calendar-2025 window from the trailer, and guided fiscal 2025 bookings of $5.55 to $5.65 billion. The quarter carried a $2.18 billion goodwill charge; Zelnick said the company was not prepared to be more specific than 'fall'.",
      "type": "financial",
      "entities": [
        "Take-Two Interactive",
        "Strauss Zelnick",
        "Grand Theft Auto VI"
      ],
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      "sources": [
        {
          "url": "https://ir.take2games.com/node/30356/pdf",
          "outlet": "Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc.",
          "published": "2024-05-16",
          "quote": "Our outlook reflects a narrowing of Rockstar Games' previously established window of Calendar 2025 to Fall of Calendar 2025 for Grand Theft Auto VI."
        },
        {
          "url": "https://variety.com/2024/gaming/news/grand-theft-auto-6-release-date-fall-2025-take-two-earnings-1236006589/",
          "outlet": "Variety",
          "published": "2024-05-16",
          "quote": "“Grand Theft Auto VI” has been slated for a release in the autumn of 2025 by Rockstar Games. The news was announced Thursday when Rockstar parent company Take-Two Interactive reported its fourth-quarter and full fiscal year 2024 earnings, revealing the company posted a $2.9 billion loss for the Jan. 1-March 31 period."
        },
        {
          "url": "https://gameinformer.com/2024/05/16/grand-theft-auto-vi-targeting-fall-2025-release-window",
          "outlet": "Game Informer",
          "published": "2024-05-16",
          "quote": "Regarding GTA VI, Take-Two states, “We are highly confident that Rockstar Games will deliver an unparalleled entertainment experience, and our expectations for the commercial impact of the title continue to increase.”"
        }
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