Although we still don’t have many details about the game, there are plenty of rumours floating around and recently, a major leak put early development footage onto the internet. All of these singular bits of information could get confusing, so here’s everything that we know so far about GTA 6.
There isn’t yet a release date
Unfortunately there is currently no release date for GTA 6. In 2020, Take-Two released a marketing report that suggested a 2023 release. And industry analyst Jason Cohen, who accurately predicted the launch window for Red Dead Redemption 2, claimed that advertising budget and other factors in the report pointed to a launch between 2023 and 2024 for GTA 6. But some other industry insiders seem to say otherwise. According to these sources, GTA 6 won’t come out for at least another two to four years – but more likely not until 2025. Essentially, no one knows for sure yet, but the rumours do suggest sometime around 2024.
GTA 6 trailer
Continuing the theme, there’s no official trailer yet. However, there are a couple of convincing fanmade trailers. One of the most popular is an April Fool’s joke posted by Marlon XGamer, which received over 4 million views. The Portuguese gaming Youtuber revealed the prank soon after the upload, but not before it had time to dupe millions of viewers. Some convincingly named fake Rockstar Games YouTube channels like “Rockstar Games Official” and “Rockstar North” circulated similar trailers and teasers, much to the confusion of the internet. These trailers saturate search engines with misleading information that makes it seem like there’s a trailer when there’s not. Don’t let that fool you. For reference, the real Rockstar Games YouTube channel should be the verified one. When the GTA 6 trailer inevitably comes out, it should upload there as well as on games media channels.
GTA 6 location
The setting for GTA 6 is another big topic of speculation. The Know, a channel known for its insider reports, points to the return of Vice City, a fictional location based off of Miami, Florida and featured in Grand Theft Auto: Vice City. Other GTA fans have found clues to support this report. For example, Imgur user Tenet007 uploaded a comparison between the GTA 5 map, “Height of Society,” and a map of the United States that highlights Florida, Michigan, and Mexico. According to a report from Bloomberg in July 2022, GTA 6 will take place in more than one city. The game will start the player off in a fictional version of Miami with more cities and missions added regularly after launch. The game’s world is expected to be bigger than ever, with “more interior locations than previous Grand Theft Auto games”. People actually thought GTA 6 would be set in Portland a couple of years ago. However, this is just a rumor that popped up because of a Portland real estate company’s blog post about a GTA game set in the city. Rockstar considered Tokyo as a setting for a separate game but then realized that the road system would be “problematic.”
GTA 6 protagonist
Since GTA 5 brought multiple protagonists to the series for the first time, there have been plenty of theories as to how Rockstar will handle playable characters in GTA 6. All signs point to new ground for the franchise in any case. The Know suggested that the game will feature a playable female protagonist, which would be a first for the series. Another rumor claimed that there will be an option for either a male or female protagonist. Although Rockstar hasn’t made any official comment, Bloomberg revealed that recent cultural changes within the company have affected the game’s development, with sources from the company suggesting that GTA 6 will star a playable female protagonist. There’s no official confirmation on whether GTA 6 plans to continue with the multi-character storylines or return to single protagonists like in previous installations, but according to Bloomberg, who spoke to more than 20 current and former Rockstar employees, the game will star a Latina woman who’s part of a “Bonnie and Clyde” pair of robbers.
GTA 6 returning characters
Some fans have asked whether or not GTA 5’s three protagonists – Franklin, Trevor, and Michael – will return in GTA 6. That’s kind of iffy, considering they were reportedly supposed to appear in single-player DLC that never materialised. With that, it seems their stories wrapped up at the end of GTA 5. That’s with the exception of Franklin, who appeared in the GTA Online The Contract missions. However, it’s likely that some names and faces from old games will reappear in some way. For example, lawyer Ken Rosenburg represented Tommy from Vice City and CJ from San Andreas. Lazlow Jones pops up in multiple GTA games, but to be fair, he’s based on one of the guys writing the game’s script. Grand Theft Auto is a series known for its Easter Eggs. Even if older characters don’t play a starring role in proceedings, it’s very possible you will be able to find some familiar faces hidden around the city.
What is Project Americas?
“Project Americas” refers to a massive Reddit leak about GTA 6. It’s called “Project Americas” because that’s what the leaker claimed Rockstar codenamed GTA 6. The leak details information including possible locations and features in the upcoming game. Trusted games industry figures have claimed that this leak was fake – or at least mostly fake. You can read it, but don’t believe everything it contains. It will likely inform a lot of the internet speculation you see about GTA 6 before release, so you’ll at least know where it came from.
GTA 6 development
In a recent report from Bloomberg, Rockstar is intending to launch “new missions and cities on a regular basis” after the launch of GTA 6. The scale of the upcoming entry is the biggest the GTA series has seen, which is affecting the game’s schedule. Bloomberg’s sources said they expected at least another two years of development, so we don’t expect a release date anytime soon.
GTA 6 pre-orders
There aren’t any GTA 6 pre-orders yet, which shouldn’t be that surprising. After all, the release date is years into the future. We’ll update this section when pre-order information becomes available.
September 2022 Leak
On the 18 September 2022, Rockstar found themselves the victim of a hack which saw over 90 assets for early builds of the game getting leaked. The FBI have now got involved while developers from across the industry have started sharing their own early builds too. We’re not going to say too much more about the leaks here, because they are bad news for everyone involved, but do check out Steve Burns’ thoughts on the leaks, and what leaking in general can mean for the industry.
