The only videogaming news more tectonic than a certified launch date for Grand Theft Auto 6 would be a confirmation from Rockstar that the Vice City-set sequel – and, by now, most anticipated game ever – has been delayed. As it stands, GTA 6 is still set for 2025, but given that it’s been roughly 16 months since the first and only trailer, our collective eyebrows are gradually starting to go up. Outside of pure speculation, there’s no reason to believe that Grand Theft Auto 6 has been delayed. But one former Rockstar designer, whose credits include GTA San Andreas and Grand Theft Auto 4, points to the studio’s previous decision making as a possible example of how, and when, a delay would be decided.
The GTA 6 release date is coming – the game is real, and we know where it will be set. Seemingly, Grand Theft Auto 6 will also feature two playable characters, one of whom is Lucia, the star of the first trailer. With GTA 5 now a full 12 years old (though still finding new life on PC, courtesy of the recently released Enhanced edition), it certainly feels like a new chapter in the epochal open-world game series is due. Exactly how big of change GTA 6 will represent, however, remains unclear.
San Andreas was a verifiable sandbox game. Wacky, freeform, and filled with features and mechanics, it was followed by the spiritually much more restrained Grand Theft Auto 4. With GTA 4 now officially 17 years old, former Rockstar designer Obbe Vermeij recalls the game’s development and the shift in tone.
“17 years ago, on April 29, 2008, we released Grand Theft Auto 4,” Vermeij writes. “To focus on making the game truly next-gen, we dropped many game features from San Andreas:
stats, multiple cities, stealth, underwater swimming, jet packs, tanks, bicycles, monster trucks, car modding, planes. The missions were designed to suit the story. Previously it had mostly been the other way around.
“The PS3 was difficult to work with so the 360 became the lead platform. Rockstar San Diego produced their Rage engine to replace the discontinued RenderWare engine. We finally realized a 32-player network game which later evolved into GTA Online. I left Rockstar North nine months later. With the project and team getting bigger I didn’t enjoy work as much as I used to. I also thought the game would continue to get darker and more serious. GTA 5 proved me wrong there.”
However, Vermiej notes something else specific from the GTA 4 production process. Originally scheduled to be released in October 2007, Rockstar only made the decision to delay the game three months before, in July; according to Vermeij, “only at that time did it become clear we were going to miss the deadline.” The former Rockstar developer speculates that, if GTA 6 were to be delayed, Rockstar would potentially make the call within a similar proximity to the originally allocated launch date.
“The original release date [for GTA 4] was October 16, 2007,” Vermeij explains, “just in time for Christmas. We made the decision to delay the game in July 2007. I’m guessing decision day for [GTA] 6 will be similar. Fingers crossed for Take-Two’s August earnings report.”
However, this is only speculation: “I have no inside info,” Vermeij emphasizes. Hopefully we’ll hear official word about the GTA 6 launch date soon.
In the meantime, we’ve compiled all the available information over at GTA Db. You can also consult the current GTA 6 map.
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