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It’s been a full decade since the last major entry in the Grand Theft Auto open-world video game series, but the wait may finally be over.
Rockstar Games’ parent company, Take-Two Interactive, told an investor call on Wednesday that their plans for 2025 will set “new standards in our industry.” And they boasted that the game company will pull in “$8 billion in net bookings” in fiscal year 2025.
Famously, GTA 5 won Rockstar more than $6 billion in revenue — and these facts have fans and industry viewers speculating that GTA 6 could drop as soon as the 2024 holiday season.
The new game is already projected to bring in $1.7 billion in sales an analyst at Goldman Sachs.
Sure, fans of the franchise have been thirsting for more GTA 6 rumors since an unprecedented leak last September distributed dozens of videos and screenshots of a confirmed “in-development build” of the game online.
Here’s what we know, and only think we know, about GTA 6:
GTA 6 returns players to the fictional version of Miami: Vice City from the series. Fans desperate to explore the world of the GTA franchise further have taken to AI image generators like Midjourney to mock possible locations and scenarios (above) for the new game
When will it actually come out?
Nearly every major title in the Grand Theft Auto series has dropped into the fall or winter season just in time for the holiday season.
So if Take-Two’s earnings forecasts are to be taken as any indication, late 2024 is the closest gamers will get their hands on a copy of GTA 6.
But the sad fact is that no one really knows for sure. Take-Two Interactive’s CEO Strauss Zelnick was quick to dispel rumors that their billion-dollar projections for 2025 confirmed GTA 6’s release date.
“We’re not talking about specific titles,” the CEO said gamesindustry.biz.
But when industry magazine pressed him about whether or not their $8 billion goal is achievable without the tentpole release of a major title like Grand Theft Auto, Zelnick’s confidence didn’t deter the faithful.
“We believe it’s very feasible,” Zelnick said. “We have a high level of confidence.
“It’s a reflection of a pipeline we’ve been investing in for years. We’re starting to see that come to fruition in Fiscal 24, and then in Fiscal 25 we expect some big successes.”
Whether that only covers the wide roster of 36 titles Take-Two currently has planned for 2025 and 2026 or whether it heralds the imminent launch of GTA 6 is unfortunately still up for debate.
Where does the new game take place?
Given the September 2022 leaks confirmed by Rockstar as authentic, players are guaranteed to return to Vice City, Grand Theft Auto’s lightly fictionalized version of Miami.
Clips in the leak showed numerous street signs and buildings identifying the location as “Vice City,” as well as police cars labeled “VCPD” indicating that the city’s police force will feature in the story.
unlike Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, Set in 1986, GTA 6 players will experience the criminal underworld of the sun-drenched metropolis in modern times.
Screencaps from the leak show characters wielding smartphones and wearing modern clothes.
A character seen in the leaks appears to reference the assassination of LifeInvader CEO Jay Norris, a character killed off by Michael De Santa, one of the three protagonists in Grand Theft Auto V.
Grand Theft Auto 5, released in 2013, was not only the best-selling game of all time, but even surpassed major Hollywood blockbusters such as Star Wars or Gone With The Wind. Both movies only grossed about $3 billion, adjusted for inflation, compared to GTA 5’s $6 billion
Rockstar Games’ parent company, Take-Two Interactive, told an investor call on Wednesday that their plans for 2025 will set “new standards in our industry” – suggesting a groundbreaking release on par with the record-breaking, industry-defining release of GTA 5 in 2013
While modern versions of GTA 5’s famous spots appeared in the leaks, including the Malibu Club, Ocean View Hotel, Little Haiti, and Vice Beach, the game appears to cover much larger grounds outside the city.
The leak showed some rural areas, including what appears to be a swampy area reminiscent of the Florida Everglades.
How much is it?
Judging by the recent price points Take-Two is offering for its other top-notch gaming titles: $70.
That’s how much Take-Two CEO Zelnick told reporters another of the company’s major franchise installments, NBA 2K21, is set to hit stores in March 2021.
“We announced a $70 price tag for NBA 2K21, and our view was that we offer an array of extraordinary experiences and a lot of replayability,” Zelnick said at the Morgan Stanley Technology, Media, and Telcom Conference that month.‘
“And the last time there was a frontline price hike in the US was in 2005-2006, so we think consumers are ready.”
That said, the rumor mill can’t stop speculating that a massive GTA 6, would have exceeded a billion dollar budgetcan come with an eye-watering MSRP price tag somewhere between $80 and $100.
The price of the game may have to be at those record-breaking heights.
Rumors, straight from the hacker responsible for the September GTA 6 leaksinsist that the production budget of the unfinished game has already exceeded $ 2 billion.
But Take-Two Interactive CEO Strauss Zelnick was quick to dispel rumors that their billion-dollar projections for 2025 also confirmed GTA 6’s impending release date.
What else can we expect?
Aside from theft and breaking general laws, gamers can expect new methods of gameplay mechanics, the return of the five-star ‘Wanted’ system, and the first-ever female protagonist in GTA history.
The latest news was confirmed in a July 2022 Bloomberg profile details about the changing culture at Rockstar, but more details emerged from the development images in the September leak.
As of the leak, the current names for GTA 6’s two playable characters are Jason and Lucia, and as with GTA 5, players will be able to play them alternately.
A leaked video showed Vice City modern Bonnie and Clyde robbing a restaurant together. The test player was seen controlling one of the characters, while the other served as an automated accomplice.
A second clip showed off the game’s character switching mechanism, which looks almost instantaneous compared to GTA 5’s unwieldy perspective shift.
The leaks also gave a taste of the game’s new stealth game mechanics: the early footage appeared to show these playable characters quietly crawling on their stomachs and discreetly attempting to move a body.
A favorite returning feature seems to be the five-star ‘Wanted’ system from the previous installment, but this time with improved AI controlling Jason and Lucia’s VCPD law enforcement pursuers.