Everything You Need To Know About GTA 6

Everything you need to know about GTA 6

It seems like only yesterday that Rockstar Games released the critically acclaimed Red Dead Redemption 2, ushering us into a vast frontier world filled with bandits and shoot-outs. It couldn't have been that long ago when it unleashed the wildly successful Grand Theft Auto 5, could it?

Indeed, it most certainly can. While GTA 5 has been re-released to extend its life, it was originally released in 2013. Much has changed since then, and with the release of the PS5 and Xbox Series X and S, rumours are circulating that the next game in Rockstar's most successful franchise could be on the way.

We've compiled everything we know about Grand Theft Auto 6 for your perusal — let's get started.

GTA 6 release date

Before we get into possible release dates, it's worth providing some context. While GTA 5 was released in 2013, Rockstar was unable to immediately devote all of its resources to developing a sequel. It appears to have begun work on GTA 6 in 2014, but was preoccupied with Red Dead Redemption 2, let alone the PC, PS4, and Xbox One versions of GTA 5, as well as the PC and Google Stadia versions of Red Dead Redemption 2.

All of those require effort, but are now completed. That is the logic behind a recent leak, purportedly from a playtester who was in contact with GTA 6's development team. That source, which has not been independently verified, indicates that Rockstar is targeting a 2021 release date.

Now that we've reached 2021, we're not so sure - that would require Rockstar to announce and release the game within a year, which isn't very common, and we haven't heard anything official yet.

Nonetheless, recent rumours suggest that a 2021 teaser announcement may be imminent, owing to some strange artwork teases posted by the developer and a "private" video discovered lurking on the developer's YouTube channel. Nonetheless, we believe it is most likely that the game will be released in its entirety in 2022, given Rockstar's track record of releasing games late.

Having said that, another nugget of information may apply here in the form of Rockstar North's 2020 UK tax relief claims. There is some debate over whether GTA and Red Dead Redemption 2 are truly "culturally British," as the tax scheme requires, but Rockstar's accounting shows a steady flow of tax relief in recent years.

As Tax Watch points out, this is indicative of ongoing development, and some are interpreting it as a sign that GTA 6 is in the works. That is a stretch, given that the tax claim is entirely generic and makes no mention of franchises, but we know they are up to something!

Now, there is another possibility here - 2K, the publisher of the Grand Theft Auto series, recently updated its fiscal plans to include a significantly increased marketing budget in 2023, some time in the future. Indeed, it anticipates spending more than double what it planned for 2021 and 2022. This has fueled speculation that it plans to market the next Grand Theft Auto game in 2023, and will spend a lot of money doing so.

We also had additional fuel added to the fire by a report from Jason Schreier over at Kotaku, who examined, as he had previously, the notoriously demanding work culture at Rockstar. According to the report's sources, the next Grand Theft Auto is indeed in development, but is still in an early stage.

Recently, astute fans noticed that Rockstar had added a new blog post to its news section - post 62005 - that is not yet live. They're hoping this indicates that an announcement post is being constructed at that address. That seems insanely optimistic to us, but at this point, who can blame anyone for getting their hopes up!

Finally, Rockstar has been spotted hiring game testers, a practice that is frequently associated with the final stages of a game's development. While this could indicate that GTA 6 is nearing completion, it could also be a requirement for other projects Rockstar is working on, such as the next-gen version of GTA 5.

All of this adds up to roughly the same conclusion - the next GTA is undoubtedly on the way, but you shouldn't get your hopes up too much for a quick release.

GTA 6 platforms 

Probably the other significant detail contained in that initial big leak about GTA 6 was information about the platforms on which it is expected to release. Obviously, GTA 5 was released at the tail end of a console generation, initially on the PS3 and Xbox 360, before being re-released on the next generation of consoles with improved performance and graphics.

That pattern, however, does not appear to be repeated in GTA 6. According to the leak, the game will be exclusive to the Playstation 5 and the Xbox Series X and S from Microsoft.

Given that those consoles will almost certainly have been available for at least a year prior to their release, this is entirely plausible.

However, given how quickly Red Dead Redemption 2 reached PC players compared to how long GTA 5 took years ago, it would be slightly surprising if GTA 6 does not also reach PC within a year of release.

GTA 6 gameplay

While waiting for details on a new Grand Theft Auto game, one major area of speculation is always present: where will it be set? While characters and storylines are equally ripe for interesting details, there is something about GTA's setting that feels like the most critical decision Rockstar must make. Whether it's Liberty City, Los Santos, or another metropolitan area, the game's playground is a major unknown.

At the moment, speculation is focused on Vice City, GTA 3's beloved neon-drenched alternate version of Miami. What is the rationale for this? Open Wheels, GTA Online's racing DLC, features a race circuit that suspiciously resembles the outline of a map that includes Miami and a chunk of Mexico. The outline does appear to be fairly clear, as evidenced by the image below, but Rockstar is clearly keeping its mouth shut at this point.

This concept gained some additional detail as a result of an alleged leak from the friend of a disgruntled ex-Rockstar employee. According to the information, the game will be set in Florida and will feature a map larger than that of GTA 5 and Red Dead Redemption 2, covering three cities including Vice City. According to reports, players will be able to control four distinct protagonists, expanding on GTA 5's three primary characters.

Another map leak appears to reveal more of the entire map, as well as a section that fans speculate is based on the Kennedy Space Center's layout. However, as is customary, there is little to substantiate this as genuine information.

Additional information comes from a Reddit user who has compiled a collection of leaked images to create a concept of what the map might look like. It's expansive and features a massive ocean - such an empty space, in fact, that we're skeptical it'll become a reality, unless Rockstar decides to take the series in an entirely new nautical direction.

Now, new rumours suggest that the game's character roster will include a female playable character for the first time in the series, which we believe is long overdue. The information comes from Tom Henderson, a long-time leaker who has previously made accurate claims.

Additionally, it has been suggested elsewhere that Liberty City (from Grand Theft Auto III), San Andreas (from Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, of course), and the Midwest could be included, or perhaps all of the above for different sections.

Regardless, expect the game to push the limits of what Sony and Microsoft's new hardware is capable of. There is no guarantee that the game world will be larger and more detailed than GTA 5's map, but that appears to be the trend.