It’s been 10 years since Rockstar Games released the much-loved car-stealing action adventure game GTA V. While there have been several re-releases of the popular Grand Theft Auto title on different console generations, Los Santos is starting to look dated, and the game everyone’s really waiting for is GTA 6.
While GTA 6 has been rumoured to be in development since 2014, Rockstar Games only acknowledged its existence for the first time in early 2022, stating on its website that the game was in “active development”.
Since then, things had been fairly quiet, until 8 November 2023, when the publisher made a big announcement: “Next month marks the 25th anniversary of Rockstar Games,” wrote Sam Houser, Rockstar Games’s co-founder. “We are very excited to let you know that, in early December, we will release the first trailer for the next Grand Theft Auto.”
While the announcement gives us no indication as to when GTA 6 will be released, the trailer will give fans their first official look at the game, with many speculating it could be released on 7 December at The Game Awards. So, what do we know about GTA 6? And when could it be released? We’ve got all the details.
‘GTA 6’ release date: When could it launch?
A release date for GTA 6 has not yet been announced, but with a first-look trailer set to drop in December, it’s likely close.
To get a rough idea of when GTA 6 could drop, we need to turn to leaks and rumours. In January 2022, a number of analysts predicted GTA 6 could launch in the fiscal year 2023/2024 of Take-Two, the parent company of Rockstar Games. The fiscal year began in April 2023 and ends in March 2024.
Developers interviewed by Bloomberg in July 2022 said they were sceptical of this release window, stating they “didn’t know of any firm release date” and they “expect the game to be at least two years away”.
As for our own speculation? It’s worth looking at the release schedule for Rockstar’s most recent game, Red Dead Redemption 2, for clues. Red Dead Redemption 2’s first teaser trailer was released in October 2016, with the company revealing the game would be released in the second half of 2017.
It was then pushed back twice, first to early 2018, before finally being given an official release date of 26 October 2018 – almost two years after the teaser trailer dropped. If the next Grand Theft Auto game follows the same release strategy, we could see GTA 6 launch around December 2024 or sometime in 2025.
‘GTA 6’ location: Where will the game be set?
In September last year, a hacker leaked 90 videos and screenshots of GTA 6. The footage and screenshots were described as early development. “We are extremely disappointed to have any details of our next game shared with you all in this way,” the company wrote in a statement. “We recently suffered a network intrusion in which an unauthorised third party illegally accessed and downloaded confidential information from our systems, including early development footage for the next Grand Theft Auto,” the statement continued. “Our work on the next Grand Theft Auto game will continue as planned and we remain as committed as ever to delivering an experience to you, our players, that truly exceeds your expectations.”
A Message from Rockstar Games pic.twitter.com/T4Wztu8RW8
— Rockstar Games (@RockstarGames) September 19, 2022
From what has been released in the leaked footage, it is now all but confirmed that the next game in the series will be taking place in Vice City – the same location seen in the 2002 game. This is based on the game’s Florida-inspired locations, as well as “VCPD” being shown on the side of police cars, possibly referring to Vice City’s Police Department.
‘GTA 6’ story and characters: Who will be the main protagonists in the new game?
Like GTA V, the latest title will feature more than one protagonist. The 2022 leak introduced us to GTA 6’s new protagonists, with much of the footage showing a Latin American woman called Lucia and a man named Jason. The latest game is rumoured to be based on the real-life criminals Bonnie and Clyde, according to someone familiar with the game’s development.
GTA V was the first in the series to introduce three playable protagonists, Michael, Trevor and Franklin, so the next in the series would follow a similar pattern, with players able to swap between characters in and between missions.
We will know more about the game once the trailer drops in December, so stay tuned.
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