Don’t book that flight to Vice City just yet…
Multiple reports have corroborated rumors that the next entry in Rockstar’s billion-dollar Grand Theft Auto franchise is not set to arrive for several years, at the very least.
Tom Henderson, who also released accurate details for Electronic Arts’ Battlefield 2042, posted a video last month suggesting that the sixth mainline Grand Theft Auto entry is unlikely to see the light until 2024 or 2025 at the earliest. This aligns with a report from Bloomberg’s Jason Schreier, who stated last year that GTA VI was still “a ways away.” Schreier tweeted this weekend that Henderson’s findings align with his own. Also joining the rumor confirmation squad is respected news outlet VGC, whose own sources have confirmed that the new sequel remains years out.
According to Henderson’s video, Grand Theft Auto VI is expected to return to Vice City, the decadent, sun-washed locale that featured in the excellent 2002 release Grand Theft Auto: Vice City. Henderson also notes that Rockstar plans to have an “expanding map” format, allowing the game world to grow over time, (another feature since corroborated by VGC). Henderson optimistically suggests that the lengthy development time is due to Rockstar taking on board criticism for overworking its staff, and making concerted efforts to provide safer and less stressful work environments for its mammoth team of developers. Here’s hoping that particular tidbit is accurate.
Either way, Rockstar need not rush. The series last entry, 2013’s Grand Theft Auto V, is still printing money for the developer, having shifted over 140 million copies since launch and continuing to rake in revenue thanks to its multiplayer component, GTA Online, which has seen persistent year-on-year growth since its launch. Incidentally, Grand Theft Auto VI is also set to be the first GTA entry of the modern era to be developed without the eye of producer/writer Dan Houser, who recently ended his 23-year career with Rockstar in order to form his own development studio, Absurd Ventures.
