Rockstar Games may just have announced Red Dead Redemption 2, but that doesn’t stop us hankering after GTA 6.
Grand Theft Auto is one of the biggest game franchises around and we haven’t had a new one for over three years now.
So while we wait for some cowboy action from RDR2, it’s time to speculate exactly what form GTA 6 will take, what we’ll be doing and when and where we’ll be doing it.
We’ve waded through the internet mines to discover the golden gossip nuggets about the GTA 6 release date, story and all the news for your reading pleasure.
Cut to the chase
- What is it? The highly anticipated next entry in the Grand Theft Auto series
- When it is out? That’s the internet’s biggest mystery
- Will it launch on PC? Both GTA 4 and 5 made their way to PC (eventually), so we’ve got all our appendages crossed
GTA 6 release date - When can I play it?
With Red Dead Redemption out in “Fall 2017”, you’re going to be waiting a little while longer for a GTA 6 release date.
According to some reports, we could be waiting until 2020 for the next Grand Theft Auto, which would make sense. Rockstar has supported GTA Online, the multiplayer component of GTA 5, since the game launched back in September 2013 with regular content updates.
If Red Dead Redemption 2’s online component is in any way similar to GTA Online, no doubt Rockstar will be busy with that for a few years to come.
After three years of GTA Online, the company was ready to do Red Dead Redemption 2, so perhaps three years after that we’ll see GTA 6 – slap bang in 2020.
Basically, expecting any news of GTA 6 any time soon is optimistic.
GTA 6 trailer – When can I watch one?
The thing about Rockstar Games is that it’s incredibly secretive. No trailer is getting out of that game studio unless someone seriously screwed up.
Just look what Rockstar did with both GTA 5 and Red Read Redemption 2. It teased an announcement a few days before dropping the first trailer for either game.
If there’s a GTA 6 trailer, you’ll know about it; the internet will explode.
GTA 6 news – What do we know so far?
What we do know about GTA 6 is that is it actually in development, even if it’s just in the early stages.
Rockstar President Leslie Benzies teased the game in an interview back in 2013 with Develop magazine.
“We don’t know what GTA 6 will be, but we’ve got some ideas,” said Benzies in the interview.
Okay, so it’s not much, but it’s certainly a snippet of solid information direct from the source.
Benzies went on to talk about what kind of ideas get the creative juices flowing over at Rockstar.
“We’ve got about 45 years’ worth of ideas we want to do,” he added. “We’ll pick the right ones.”
“It comes from the idea first. Where it is going to be set is the first question. That then defines the missions; you’re doing different things in LA than in New York or Miami.
“The map and story get worked up together, and the story is a basic flow of how it works out so you can layer the mission in.”
We’re just pleased that Rockstar has so many ideas for what it wants to do with GTA 6. We just hope it sorts them into some kind of organised system and gets that game to us sharpish.
GTA 6 map - Where will GTA 6 be set?
Although there haven’t been any concrete reports as yet, every online titbit and juicy gossip morsel is pointing towards GTA 6’s map being absolutely massive.
We’re even not talking city-size massive, we’re talking potentially the entire of the United States massive.
Some rumors are suggesting that GTA 6 may end up spanning the entirety of the US, with some kind of teleportation system that cuts down the journey time between cities.
There are even some incredibly exciting rumours that Rockstar Games might have a ‘70s theme, so crack out those old bell-bottoms and disco balls.
But there’s also another rumour that’s gathering strength, which would put GTA 6 a little closer to Rockstar Games’ British home – a London setting.
The reports actually begun with a comment from Rockstar Games’ co-founder Dan Houser:
“At the moment, it feels like GTA’s DNA is contemporary-ish, American-ish, English-speaking-ish, because that’s what it has been… But that doesn’t necessarily limit it to those, that’s just what we’ve done so far.”
Rockstar Games sources suggest that London is the only non-US location to be whispered as a potential GTA setting.
For our money, we think a return to Vice City is on the cards, which would tie in to the 70s setting rumor mentioned above.
The GTA3 trilogy was set across three locations, Liberty City, Vice City, and San Andreas. This mirrored the original Grand Theft Auto Game, which was also set across the same three locations.
The most recent Grand Theft Auto games, GTA4 and GTA5, have so far been set in Liberty City and San Andreas respectively, meaning that Vice City is the only location yet to be explored by the recent games.
The only question now is whether Rockstar will be tempted to complete the set.
GTA 6 rumors
1. A female protagonist
When asked about a female protagonist for GTA 5, instead of three male heroes (or anti-heroes), Rockstar co-founder and lead writer Dan Houser said in an interview with The Guardian back in 2013 that a female lead wasn’t really on the table, but not intentionally.
“We didn’t really think about it this time,” Houser said. “That’s not to say that we couldn’t or we wouldn’t. This character set is just what came to us: it wasn’t, ‘we’ve got X and Y so we need Z’. We weren’t trying to do it off a checklist – I don’t think that will ever give you something that’s believable or engaging.”
“In the future, could we do a game with a female lead? Of course. We just haven’t found the right game for it yet, but it’s one of the things that we always think about.”
“It didn’t feel natural for this game but definitely for the right game in the future - with the right themes, it could be fantastic. But for GTA 5, this was the organic thing that came up, these were the characters that would display the themes we wanted to think about.”
Fans have long clamoured for a female hero in a Grand Theft Auto game, and the rumours have it that
Likelihood: Strong. A female lead would be a fantastic choice for GTA 6 and would be a wonderful change from all the murdered prostitutes.
2. Eva Mendez and Ryan Gosling
Rumours of a female protagonist are super exciting, but there’s more.
Apparently, Eva Mendez is top of Rockstar’s list for playing said hero.
But again, there’s more. There’s a male lead on the list too and it’s none other than global heart-throb Ryan Gosling, who also just happens to be her real-life husband.
Likelihood: Questionable. GTA is a major gaming franchise that’s incredibly famous, especially outside of the gaming industry, so it’s possible some big names could be involved, but we’re not convinced.
3. Full support for virtual reality
Another GTA 6 rumour involves virtual reality and according to the online rumblings, you may be able to play the entirety of GTA 6 in VR.
Specific headsets haven’t been mentioned, but since this is probably just a rumour we’re not that bothered.
Likelihood: Questionable. GTA 6 might have a VR experience attached to it but playing the whole game in virtual reality would be insane.
Unless we’ve seen huge leaps in virtual reality in the years between now and the GTA 6 release date playing a whole GTA game in VR would prove testing for most stomachs.
Fast-paced, action-packed and played in long sessions, a VR GTA (in its current form at least) wouldn’t work.
4. Time travel or another futuristic twist
With the murmurings of a seriously big map for GTA 6, there are also some rumours of time travelling being a major part of the game.
Yes… seriously.
This isn’t Saints Row we’re talking about, but apparently there may be a futuristic twist to GTA 6.
According to a report from ChristianToday – really – the game will give players “the taste of time travel” where “teleportation [is] possible within a split-second”.
Likelihood: Utterly ridiculous. There are hilarious side-missions in GTA games, but having time travelling as a main gameplay mechanic is just not in Rockstar’s DNA.
Plus, ChristianToday has no screenshots, sources or any kind of proof, so we’re certainly sceptical.
5. Playing as either a cop or a criminal
Another potential for the GTA 6 storyline is that you have the decision to play either as a cop or as a criminal. Or at least, if GTA 6 adopts the multiple protagonist feature of GTA 5, one of the characters you play as could be a police officer.
Likelihood: Strong. We could totally see this working, especially with the potential mayhem that could ensue if you’re playing a Trevor-style character half the time and a cop the other.
