Rockstar has stated that they are developing GTA 6 but have yet to make an “official” announcement with a generic trailer. The company was caught off guard by a series of leaks earlier this year. A leak has revealed details of the next Grand Theft Auto game. Rockstar has confirmed the veracity of this leak, but has stated that it is based on earlier work. So we still have to wait for the actual product. According to well-known journalist Tom Henderson, the official announcement will be made in 2023.
When is Grand Theft Auto 6 (GTA 6) Release Date Coming Out ?
Rockstar Games, developer of the Grand Theft Auto franchise, first confirmed in February 2022 via an official post on Newswire that “the next entry in the Grand Theft Auto franchise is currently underway.” This post was created to announce community updates surrounding GTA V, but ends on a subtle note about the future of the franchise.
Then, in June 2022, Rockstar Games shared an official statement that they are investing all their resources in the development of GTA VI. This of course reflects the seriousness of the developers towards the GTA franchise. This announcement has put their other projects like GTA 4 and Red Dead Redemption Remaster on hold until further notice. As expected, RDR fans weren’t happy about the news.
Unfortunately, none of these dedicated announcements have brought us any closer to the release date. Instead, we have to thank Chris Klippel, the famous GTA leaker, for more information on GTA 6’s launch date. According to Klippel, GTA 6 will not be released until the last few months of 2024. He is not directly affiliated with Rockstar. but he’s done reliable GTA 5 leaks in the past.
Bloomberg reporter Jason Schreier also endorsed this release window in a separate Twitter thread. Given the speculation and lack of official announcements, we believe GTA 6 will be released in late 2024 or early 2025.
Microsoft Think Grand Theft Auto 6 (GTA 6) Will Launch 2024
Microsoft is investigating the acquisition of Activision Blizzard. In this regard, the Redmond-based giant has issued a response document to the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA). Part of the document asks Activision’s competition to justify the lack of market impact.
While the whole acquisition controversy may not concern you, the market share portion of the answer talks about Take-Two Interactive, parent company Rockstar Games, which developed the GTA franchise. Microsoft claims that “the long-awaited Grand Theft Auto VI is expected to be released in 2024”.
Before dismissing this forecast as just another guess, consider the fact that Microsoft owns Windows and Xbox, which are the two main platforms for the upcoming GTA VI. Platform owners who have inside information about major title releases are not as far-fetched as other potential reviews.
Will Grand Theft Auto 6 (GTA 6) Launch in 2024?
After a series of leaks and data breaches, the launch date for Grand Theft Auto 6 remains unclear. In September, nearly 100GB of content was leaked across social media platforms, sparking an uncontrollable frenzy that set the game world on fire.
Well, embedded in Microsoft’s recent statement to CMA regarding its acquisition of Activision Blizzard is a revealing statement. Based on leaked information published in an October article, Microsoft believes GTA 6 will be released sometime in 2024.
As part of the public document that Microsoft sent to the UK Competition and Markets Authority, there is a lot of information to digest. Weighing in at 111 pages, the document covers everything from the growth of specific gambling markets to progressive definitions of gambling terms and practices.
Perhaps one of the most interesting pieces of information to glean from this document, however, is found at the bottom of page 24. There’s a brief section highlighting the future of some of the biggest players in gaming, and of course that includes Take-Two, Rockstar’s parent company, developer of the Grand franchise. Theft Auto.
The highly anticipated Grand Theft Auto VI is expected to be released in 2024.
It is important to emphasize that this information was written citing a leak documented by Tech Radar in October 2022.
In 2011, Rockstar Games launched Grand Theft Auto V, and two years later, in 2013, the game was released. A few weeks ago, Rockstar officially announced that GTA 6 is already well ahead in terms of production, which will put it on track for a 2024 launch.
Why is Grand Theft Auto 6 (GTA6) Delayed?
Like other AAA video game developments, GTA 6 had several elements that influenced its development and release. First is the COVID-19 pandemic which brought the whole world to a standstill, and internal conflict at Rockstar Games caused them to reconsider company policies and reorganize their team.
However, many gamers suspect that Rockstar Games is trying to capitalize on the success and popularity of GTA 5 (and its online title) before releasing a sequel. And given GTA 5’s huge earnings, it’s no surprise that the studio isn’t quite ready to release its best product yet.
After all, we’ve waited a decade, which is double the five year gap between GTA IV and GTA V. Now, let’s hope the wait is only two years. Let’s hope! If a massive new leak doesn’t affect the developer’s plans.
Grand Theft Auto 6 (GTA 6) supported Platforms
The gaming industry changed drastically in the decades between GTA 6 and GTA 5. And since Rockstar Games is known as a pioneer in the industry, we expect GTA VI to only have its first release on PS5 and Xbox Series X/S. So it can be assumed that the PS4 version of GTA 6 will not be revealed. So yes, most likely GTA VI will be exclusive to PS5 and not available to PS4 users. However, it is not exclusive to Sony consoles and will most likely be available on Xbox as well.
Also, like GTA 5, developers can later upgrade and port the game for PC users. Unfortunately, this could mean that GTA 6 won’t hit PC users until late 2025 or early 2026. In comparison, GTA 5 was released in 2013 on consoles and then in 2015 on PC. After all, that’s less time than it took for Marvel’s Spider-Man to release on PC.
Grand Theft Auto 6 GTA 6 Playable Characters (Leaked Names)
According to Media reports Rockstar Games is in the process of revamping its image, and its efforts are not limited to the real world. Several former and current Rockstar Games employees have raised the issue of the gender gap in their developer pay scales. If we look at the GTA franchise, the situation is also not ideal.
Including the expansion pack, we have sixteen games in the GTA franchise. Only two of these titles, the first two GTA games, have playable female characters. The boys have literally dominated every other iteration of the game. Luckily, Grand Theft Auto 6 plans to give us a female protagonist in GTA 6 alongside a main male duo who are closely linked to play out the story. The Bloomberg report goes on to claim that this playable female character will be Latina, another positive move for the cast.
[UPDATE | September 19, 2022]: Following a massive September 2022 leak, several Twitter users with access to the leaked footage have revealed that the two main characters are called Jason and Lucia. They will most likely function as independent characters, but may support each other in storylines and even share parts of the inventory.
Grand Theft Auto 6 (GTA 6) Map Confirmed
If we look at all the GTA games so far we have 2 full games in Los Santos, several different titles in Liberty City and only one main title in Vice City. With that in mind, it’s no surprise that GTA 6’s story takes place in the legendary Vice City (map above). The rumors also line up with a Bloomberg report detailing the location of GTA 6 which will be set in and around Miami.
Following a leaked video shared by a hacker, many users have shared leaked footage pointing to locations such as the Malibu Club and Ocean’s View Hotel making nostalgic returns to GTA Vice City. If that happened, it would be no surprise that places like Starfish Island would make a comeback too.