The last installment of the Grand Theft Auto game was highly acclaimed and is almost inconceivably massive and entertaining. GTA V has a film-level storyline, pristine graphics, and a hyper-realistic digital world. Rockstar Games has sold over 145 million copies of GTA V. The game was launched back in 2013 and still is one of the finest games out there. Thanks to Rockstar’s excellent and consistent updates to the online world of GTA. Sure, considering all this the game might have an eternal shelf life, even after the successor’s launch. But, ever since Rockstar Games has announced GTA V, the fanbase of the game is trying to understand what the next title (GTA 6) of the franchise will look like.
Rockstar Games has remained notably secretive about the game and has not made a peep about the successor of the GTA V yet – or even acknowledged it exists. It is worth noting that its parent company Take-Two Interactive is following a suit. But that doesn’t stop the leaks and rumors from pouring in. GTA 6 has been an active part of the rumor mill for quite a while now. In this article, we have compiled leaks, rumors, fan theories, and every reasonable piece that is enough to solve the GTA 6 puzzle.
GTA 6 Release Date
When is the GTA 6 coming? Well, this is a very obvious question. It is reasonable that GTA games do often have a longer wait cycle than most games (considering the RDR franchise and all that)! But, the wait for the new GTA title has never been this long. I mean, we are talking eight long years here. The reason for this could be Rockstar pooling its substantial amounts of development resources into its GTA Online version and post-launch updates leaving the GTA 6 under the sheets for a long time. A report from Kotaku claimed that the new entry in the Grand Theft Auto series was in its early development stages as of April 2020. However, Rockstar Mag, a French publication claims that the story is complete and voice acting is fulfilled.
While the reports from publications did not give us an idea of when would Rockstar take its wraps off GTA 6, the publisher Take-Two Interactive’s marketing budget has spilled beans on GTA 6 release date. According to VentureBeat, the publisher’s 10-K SEC filing, which generally lays out financial plans for the next five years, shows that the company expects to spend $89 million on marketing between April 2023 and March 2024. Now, this is a huge spike and the report also leads out that more than half the marketing budget is expected for any other fiscal year over the next decade. As one would already expect, this spike is because GTA 6 is expected to release within this period.
Not just that, in a note to investors that is included in VentureBeat’s report, industry analyst Jeff Cohen pointed that former marketing budgets have predicted the releases of other big titles from Take-Two including Red Dead Redemption 2. If Cohen’s prediction turns out to be true, we can possibly get our hands on the GTA 6 sometime between April 2023 and March 2024. Leaving the 2023 launch possibility aside, the 2024 launch lines up with leaker Tom Henderson’s GTA 6 release date prediction. For those unaware, Henderson is known for his accurate leaks on Battlefield and Call of Duty.
According to Henderson, GTA 6 will not be launched until 2024 or 2025 and there are a few reasons for that. For starters, Rockstar Games has been focusing primarily on its “employee wellbeing” for almost two years. It makes sense, I mean, Rockstar is playing it safe by not announcing the game or its release date information until it is confident that it can hit its launch time without having any delays. We have seen punk(y) game doing this and that led its employees to work for long hours to meet the deadlines and ended up dead on arrival. One more understandable reason for the 2024/25 launch is that Rockstar would likely not want to release GTA 6 while its predecessor is still on the top charts.
GTA 6 Map
Where will GTA 6 be set? This is one of the most asked questions which has so many answers and theories. Although we do not have a hard piece of information just yet, all the reports and gossips are pointing towards a massive map for the world of GTA 6. A few reports also suggest the map could be as larger as the United States. Going by Rockstar’s history, GTA games have been set in these locations so far:
- Liberty City: GTA 3, GTA 4, GTA Lost and Damned, and The Ballad of Gay Tony
- Vice City: GTA Vice City
- San Andreas & Los Santos: GTA San Andreas, GTA 5
According to this, we can expect the next edition of GTA to be set in either Vice City or Liberty City. We think GTA 6 would consist of all the main locations from the previous GTA games including Vice City, Liberty City, and San Andreas/Los Santos. I mean, GTA V was the biggest GTA game ever and going by that, GTA 6 has to be bigger than the biggest. And what would be the better way to do that other than bringing all the maps together by adding a few new locations? Also, the anonymous post left the first letter of sentence spelling out ‘GTA6LSVCLC’ pointing out potential locations Grand Theft Auto 6: Los Santos, Vice City, and Liberty City. The post was now deleted but the Pastebin post was backed up by a review on Glassdoor by a Rockstar Games QA tester.
If you are wondering how would these three locations look together as an actual map, Graphic designer RealityDesign at GTA Forums got you covered.
Moving on, one of the biggest GTA 6 map rumors has come from The Know (A YouTube Channel). The Know has claimed that GTA 6 is being developed silently under a codename Project Americas. Now, this means players could possibly wander around many places across the United States of America including South America. But, the majority of the map leaks so far suggested the game to set in Vice City which is the Rockstar version of Miami. The game is focused to be on drug-running which would draw on the popularity of shows and movies like Narcos and Made in America, especially if Rockstar decides to set the game in the 80s. According to a deleted Reddit post, the game with Project Americas is under production since 2015 and was left dry during the development of Red Dead Redemption 2.
Now, setting the game in the 80s comes with its own ups and downs. Henderson also claims that Vice City will be coming to GTA 6 in some capacity but it won’t be set in the 80s or 90s world. If that turns true, GTA 6 will be set in a modern world which also allows it to fit with GTA Online. Rumors also suggested that GTA 6 would be set in London. Another report by Christian Today claims that GTA 6 will have futuristic maps and locations which might even feature time travel. Now, consider these two things! GTA 6 basing in London and having futuristic locations. Does it ring any bells? Well, Watch Dogs: Legion has more or less a similar implementation. Meaning, the possibility of GTA being set in London or even the future is very slim.
GTA 6 Storyline
Okay, from all the rumors we have come across so far, the GTA 6 could either be set in the past (prolly between the 70s to 90s) or could be set in the future (with time machines and all that). If the narrative of the game is thought to span across the past, you can expect to play as a protagonist who is an up-and-coming drug lord-wannabe, starting off as “a grunt doing runs as a cocaine smuggler” from Vice City to the new South American area before forming connections with the big-time drug lords and making your way up. The game plot may also feature HIV and the immigration crisis of the time. Most of the rumors so far suggested that the game will be heavily inspired by Netflix’s Narcos with a drug empire building.
If by somehow Rockstar manages to encompass all 52 North American states, teleportation could come in handy for your protagonist. Now, teleportation itself is something we have not seen in GTA V or the previous ones, we can expect the modern or future of the United States with time traveling and mechanized teleporting features. If this happens, GTA 6 would be a fine line between two of Ubisoft’s hit titles – The Crew and The WatchDogs Legion. The Crew has a whole country within its map by placing key cities side by side whereas the Watch Dogs Legion is set in future London with all the futuristic sets and features.
Now, this is our take on GTA 6 rumors and other leaks. Do let your thoughts in the comment section below. This article will be updated each time we find credible information and rumors. You can bookmark this page or follow us on social media to stay updated on GTA 6 news.
