Rockstar titles always seem to be shrouded in mystery until they’re suddenly unveiled by the publisher itself, as was the case with Grand Theft Auto 5 and now seems to be the case with Grand Theft Auto 6. Tons of rumors and alleged “leaks” tend to fly around, but Rockstar is often very tight-lipped until the official unveil. Right now, it seems fans are in that awkward middle ground where rumors have reached their height without knowing anything about the game itself.
There’s very little known about Grand Theft Auto 6, at least about anything specific. It does officially exist, that much has been corroborated by multiple sources, as if it wasn’t obvious enough already. Considering the massive success of Grand Theft Auto 5 and the franchise in general, one of the most popular game series of all time isn’t disappearing any time soon. That being said, without the first reveal for the game, concrete information on the sixth Grand Theft Auto game has been incredibly dry and sparse. Here’s what’s currently rumored and teased about the game.
Incremental and Consistent Development Approach
Perhaps the most credible rumor we have so far comes from a follow-up to Kotaku’s reporting on the “Culture of Crunch” at Rockstar Games. While the bulk of the article discusses development pipeline and work culture changes at the publisher, one specific portion of the article piqued the interests of fans. When discussing some of the positive culture changes made at Rockstar Games after the backlash, there was a specific reference to the benefits made to Grand Theft Auto 6’s development. Apparently Rockstar’s management team will be implementing a more “moderately sized” game upon initial release, and then consistently updating the game over time with new content. The idea is to help curb the working culture reputation Rockstar has attained due to their development team’s heavy reliance on crunch in the past.
Essentially that would mean, rather than releasing a gigantic game outright, a more measured approach could be taken when developing the game’s content. Hard to tell what that method would specifically apply to in Grand Theft Auto 6, or if that essentially means the game’s release would have a smaller map at first or if its story content is expanded over time. Technically, Rockstar has taken this development approach already, but in a different capacity with Grand Theft Auto Online. That portion of the game expanded far beyond its initial state, turning into a behemoth of an online experience. A similar approach is occurring with Red Dead Redemption 2’s multiplayer experience. It’s very possible this constant updates approach could apply to Grand Theft Auto Online’s next iteration with Grand Theft Auto 6.
Returning to Vice City
Outside of that development insight, there’s not much known about the game itself. The most popular theory backed by rumors/leaks is that Grand Theft Auto 6 returns to the Miami-like Vice City setting again. To some extent this theory makes the most sense, considering past Grand Theft Auto titles have revisited the fictional parodies of American cities multiple times. Grand Theft Auto 4 returned to Liberty City which was introduced in Grand Theft Auto 3, and expanded on in Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories. Every entry in the series since 2001’s Grand Theft Auto 3 has revolved around the use of Liberty City, Vice City, or San Andreas as the game’s world.
Considering the most recent release of Grand Theft Auto 5 brought players back to San Andreas, it’s easy to assume the natural progression means Vice City is up next. Many rumors and leaks seem to point to Vice City (and even surrounding areas like Grand Theft Auto’s version of the Everglades) for the next game, likely due to Grand Theft Auto’s track record thus far making it the most obvious choice. All manner of justifications have been made, ranging from reports from anonymous sources to meta references like a Grand Theft Auto Online racing DLC map. That’s even assuming Rockstar Games chooses to stick to the formula and not decide to branch the franchise out to a completely new or lesser known location. The series’ setting has never been truly static, and could expand on existing cities in the Grand Theft Auto universe like San Fiero (parody of San Francisco) or Las Venturas (parody of Las Vegas).
Multiple Protagonists Again
Piggybacking off of Grand Theft Auto 5’s story content, another prominent rumor for the next game is the use of multiple playable protagonists. Grand Theft Auto 5’s story crafted an innovative narrative that revolved around Michael, Trevor, and Franklin, as their lives intertwined and the three began their criminal enterprises together. The trio of protagonists in Grand Theft Auto 5, and the freedom to switch between them on the fly, was received very positively from fans and critics alike. This rumor for Grand Theft Auto 6 is the most problematic because there’s no real consensus between each rumor/leak.
Most other leakers have either not corroborated or outright denied multiple playable characters. Other rumors have stated a single male and female protagonist, while other rumors state Grand Theft Auto 6 will have both a male and female protagonist. Some state the series will be returning to the singular protagonist model traditional Grand Theft Auto games have had. Understandably, if Grand Theft Auto 6 brought back multiple protagonists it would be in response to how well that concept was received in the last game. At the same time, it becomes much more difficult story-wise to craft a narrative with multiple playable characters at the core of the singleplayer experience.
The State of Grand Theft Auto 6’s Development
Lastly, there’ve been several recent rumors/leaks regarding the state of the game’s development. Most recently, a leak alleges the narrative for Grand Theft Auto 6 has already been finalized for the singleplayer story. According to the leak, the story for Grand Theft Auto 6 was finished prior to lead writer Dan Houser retiring from Rockstar Games as of March 2020. This leak isn’t the most surprising of the bunch, considering nailing down the narrative for a game like Grand Theft Auto is usually one of the first things done in the game development process.
With that in mind, it does coincide with additional leaks regarding Grand Theft Auto 6’s state of development. A separate leak from a reputable Rockstar Games leaker (Tez2) stated that development of Grand Theft Auto 6 is around “60 or 70 percent done” on the entire game. The only possible disproving of this leak comes from Jason Schreier, formerly of Kotaku, stating development was in a much earlier stage. It is important to note that these perspectives of development are largely subjective, and neither gave an exact timeline as to how far away each game is.
Overall, it’s safe to say Grand Theft Auto 6 is still a ways away from release at this point. Until fans hear from Rockstar directly, many of these rumors could be incredibly wrong. That being said, rumors and leaks have been accurate in the past, so fans may have a good idea what to expect when the game is revealed.
Grand Theft Auto 6 is reportedly in development.
