GTA 6 release date speculation: Story rumours, gameplay leak & news

Since GTA 6 is pretty much the most anticipated video game in modern times, there's so much false information that pops up on a daily basis. So to right the wrong and separate the fact from the fiction, we've gathered together every bit of information surrounding GTA 6 that's worth knowing and why we should all likely be excited about Rockstar's next open-world game.

In the meantime, why not check out the best GTA 5 cheats and GTA 5 mods to wreak havoc on Los Santos, or live out your days in GTA RP to help pass the time? You could always dive back into the final days of GTA Online, too.

Here's everything you need to know about the GTA 6 rumoured release date and what's been leaked/confirmed so far about the next Grand Theft Auto iteration.

GTA 6 announced - what has Rockstar said?

Rockstar officially confirmed the existence of GTA 6 in February 2022. The full statement can be read below:

"With the unprecedented longevity of GTAV, we know many of you have been asking us about a new entry in the Grand Theft Auto series. With every new project we embark on, our goal is always to significantly move beyond what we have previously delivered – and we are pleased to confirm that active development for the next entry in the Grand Theft Auto series is well underway. We look forward to sharing more as soon as we are ready, so please stay tuned to the Rockstar Newswire for official details."

When is the GTA 6 release date? Our speculation

The GTA 6 release date looks like it will land sometime in late 2024 to early 2025 going off rumours with no official date announced by Rockstar as of yet.

With the GTA 6 announcement trailer confirmed for December, this seems highly likely. It's worth noting that GTA V was revealed in 2011, two years ahead of its launch in 2013 - so the jury is still out. In addition to this, pretty much every GTA has been delayed at least once so if Rockstar announces late 2024, don't expect it until 2025.

Microsoft stated that GTA 6 should launch in 2024, with a response to the UK Competition and Markets Authority investigation into its acquisition of Activision Blizzard reading: "The highly-anticipated Grand Theft Auto VI is expected to be released in 2024."

That said, this window could be missed as @RStarUniverse revealed on X that there has been an internal delay.

This was further corroborated by @GTAonlineNews.

Redditor u/wonderingandthinking also took a look at GTA parent company Take-Two's November Webcast, where they went over the future earnings and cited "shy of 8 billion in fiscal 25", which lends credence to the supposed internal delay

"Fiscal 25" is the financial period that runs from 1st April 2024 to 31st March 2025.

Whether this is continued earnings from GTA 6 and the next GTA Online, or it will indeed be released in fiscal year 2024-25 remains to be seen.

During an earnings call that was held in August 2023, Take Two CEO and chairman Strauss Zelnick explained that next year "will include new record levels of operating performance". Those new levels have to come from something - that thing is most likely GTA 6, and hopefully the upcoming trailer reveals when that may be.

Always take any rumours with a pinch of salt until official word comes from Rockstar.

Is there a trailer for GTA 6?

Rockstar has officially announced that the first GTA 6 trailer will premiere in "early December".

More than 10 years after the release of Grand Theft Auto V, the New York City-based developer confirmed in November that the trailer is imminent. Speculation has already been in overdrive as to when it will arrive specifically and whether it will tie into The Game Awards on 8th December 2023. Host Geoff Keighley has yet to tease anything as he usually does, so we'll just have to wait and see.

Once it lands, head back here to get your first glimpse at what is likely to be one of the biggest games of all time.

GTA 6 leaks

90 videos of what is to be believed early development footage of GTA 6 leaked in September 2022, meaning we have some idea of what the game might entail. Before being taken down, the footage seemed to confirm the new female and male protagonists alongside showcasing some open-world gameplay.

Rockstar subsequently confirmed the validity of the leaks and added that it is "extremely disappointed to have any details of our next game shared with you all in this way". Despite the leak, though, Rockstar claims that its "work on the next Grand Theft Auto game will continue as planned". The full statement can be read below:

"We recently suffered a network intrusion in which an unauthorised third party illegally accessed and downloaded confidential information from our systems, including early development footage for the next Grand Theft Auto. At this time, we do not anticipate any disruption to our live game services nor any long-term effect on the development of our ongoing projects," said Rockstar.

"We are extremely disappointed to have any details of our next game shared with you all in this way. Our work on the next Grand Theft Auto game will continue as planned and we remain as committed as ever to delivering an experience to you, our players, that truly exceeds your expectations. We will update everyone again soon and, of course, will properly introduce you to this next game when it is ready. We want to thank everyone for their ongoing support through this situation."

Rockstar's woes are yet to conclude, however, as spotted by Reddit user u/Tobbelobben30 in the GTA 6 subreddit, publisher Take-Two has patented an animation system that allows for "highly dynamic and realistic animations".

Tobbelobben30 went on to explain in layman's terms what this means.

"Based on this patent, it seems like they're using a clever system. They've built a library of small building blocks for character movements. These blocks can be combined in various ways to create a wide range of animations."

All these "building blocks" could be combined together to infer how the player and other characters should move and react.

"...think about a character in the game walking in the rain, feeling tired or getting injured. Instead of designing separate animations for each of these situations, they use these building blocks to put together the character's movements naturally."

Very exciting stuff, then! Red Dead Redemption 2 already has an extremely reactive animation system, and given the amount of obsessive detail that is in that game, a Rockstar release six or so years on from then should be a visual powerhouse.

Can you pre-order GTA 6?

GTA 6 is not available for pre-order with Rockstar still keeping lots of information hidden until the game's reveal is ready. Once we have a trailer, a release date should follow before pre-order information is published. Going off past releases, it's likely that pre-orders won't go live until a good six months or so out from the game, even if the likes of Amazon, GAME and such do upload placeholder pages in the meantime.

An image has been doing the rounds on social media as of late that supposedly sees an Argos agent stating that pre-orders will go up on 12th December 2023. It's likely this has been doctored but worth keeping an eye on following the GTA 6 trailer release.

Where will the GTA 6 map be set?

All rumours, reports and speculation point to GTA 6 being set in Miami or something similar to Vice City. This was corroborated by a Bloomberg report (paywall) with the map supposedly being based on the fictional city.

Prior to this focus on Miami, the report claims: "Early designs called for the inclusion of territories modelled after large swaths of North and South America [...] But the company reeled in those ambitions."

However, it sounds like the game could expand beyond Miami post-launch. Bloomberg claims: "Rockstar’s plan is now to continually update the game over time, adding new missions and cities on a regular basis."

Punters have long suggested that the map will still be larger than both GTA 5 and Red Dead Redemption 2 and supposed GTA leaker Tez2 has noted that a recent GTA+ survey has asked select players if they'd use a fast-travel feature - which is therefore likely being considered for GTA 6.

Will GTA 6 story include first female protagonist?

As for the story and characters in GTA 6, Bloomberg's report covers that, too. The article claims that GTA 6 "will include a playable female protagonist for the first time, according to people familiar with the game". This has now (kind of) been verified by the leaked early development footage of the game.

The report goes on to note: "The woman, who is Latina, will be one of a pair of leading characters in a story influenced by the bank robbers Bonnie and Clyde."

Touching on how the GTA tone could be modernised by this new instalment, the report adds: "Developers are also being cautious not to 'punch down' by making jokes about marginalised groups."

What platforms will GTA 6 be on?

We can predict with confidence that you will be able to play GTA 6 on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S, yet it remains to be seen if GTA 6 will also reach PS4 and Xbox One. Those previous-gen consoles could be pretty outdated by the time GTA 6 is ready, after all.

A GTA 6 PC release date will likely happen at some point too, whether that's at launch or a later date as the previous entries have yet to be seen. It's fair to assume though that GTA 6 won't come to Nintendo Switch due to its underpowered hardware. The only way we can see this being possible is via the cloud. We'll keep you posted as we learn more.

Read more on Grand Theft Auto:

• GTA San Andreas cheats
• GTA Vice City cheats
• GTA 3 cheats
• GTA Trilogy: Definitive Edition details
• GTA 5 voice actors - the full cast

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