GTA 6 release date delay has forced one AI founder to vibe code his own Grand Theft Auto ripoff
Vibe coding stops for no man
Update: The GTA 6 pre-order date has been revealed. You’ll be able to reserve your copy of Grand Theft Auto 6 on June 25, 2026.
😅 One AI founder is attempting to vibe code his own version of GTA 6
🤖 Ziwen Xu is using Claude’s Max20 generative model to help
🤷♂️ So far, he’s got basic character formation and backgrounds, but has a long way to go
📅 Rockstar has nothing to fear, with GTA 6 scheduled to release in five months or so
We’ve been waiting so long for GTA 6 that it’s gotten to the stage where people are trying to make their own version of the game with the help of AI.
Startup founder Ziwen Xu has taken it upon himself, with the help of Claude’s most powerful Max20 generative model, to try to vibe code his own version of GTA 6, as he posted on X.
Since starting a few days ago, he’s been posting updates on X about Claude’s progress and has even shared the code on GitHub – his goal is to “beat the retail GTA 6 to launch”, as per an X update post. With the GTA 6 release date seemingly locked in for November 19, that means we’re just over five months away.
Of course, Rockstar has no real reason to feel threatened by what is a small piece of fun, but there has been progress since Xu started this vibe coding journey. His non-descript oval character is turning into a vaguely recognizable human figure, and the background is taking shape into something vaguely approaching Vice City.
Of course, there is a long way to go for things such as cars, weapons and so on, but with months to go, it’s an intriguing litmus test as to what’s possible with AI for game development, and how relevant it is to helping a game take shape.
We recently got a GTA 6 pre-order update from a surprising source as official Xbox social media accounts have encouraged users to wishlist GTA 6 for the first time in several months, while Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick also recently admitted that the expectations for Grand Theft Auto VI are “terrifying” and said that meeting those expectations is “a pretty daunting challenge”. It probably doesn’t help that a former GTA 6 dev said the game “probably won’t look as good as the trailers”.
We had been expecting an impending pre-order several weeks ago, courtesy of a Best Buy affiliate email sent to websites and creators that mentioned GTA 6 as a ‘new product’ with a window of May 18 to May 21.
That pre-order never went live during the original window, although reports from Insider Gaming have noted that this may not have been the case originally, with pre-orders expected in July or August 2026.
We don’t know how much the game is going to cost, nor what editions will be available when it eventually goes up for pre-order, although a more expensive GTA 6 Collector’s Edition is likely based on previous Rockstar releases.
Rumors had suggested that the standard game may cost upwards of $100, although others have corroborated on a more sensible $70-$80 retail price.
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Reece Bithrey is a journalist with bylines for Trusted Reviews, Digital Foundry, PC Gamer, TechRadar and more. He also has his own blog, UNTITLED, and graduated from the University of Leeds with a degree in International History and Politics in 2023.