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You’ve probably already seen the meme about random results you didn’t expect before Grand Theft Auto 6 was released. The reason for this is that it has taken a long time for GTA 6 to be released, and gamers have become increasingly impatient over the past few years.
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Grand Theft Auto 5 was released in 2013 and has sold over 205 million copies over the past decade, making it one of the most popular games of all time. GTA Online still has hundreds of thousands of players in 2024, but constant updates aren’t enough to calm the gaming community. They all keep asking the question “Why is GTA 6 taking so long?” every day on social media and forums.
For a while, there was a running joke about GTA 6 being nowhere to be found. Rockstar has been pretty tight-lipped about its existence, and fans began to wonder if it would ever be released. After years of rumors, leaks, and speculation, Rockstar finally tweeted about the sequel in 2022 and officially announced Grand Theft Auto 6 in December 2023. But even then, Rockstar remained silent on details, including a release date. “Grand Theft Auto 6” is finally scheduled to be released in the fall of 2025, and we look back at why it took more than 13 years to release it.
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Why is GTA 6 taking so long to release?
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Before Grand Theft Auto 5, new titles were released every few years. GTA 3 came out in 2001, followed by Vice City in 2002 and San Andreas in 2004. Then there were longer stretches of smaller titles, including GTA 4, which arrived in 2008. “Vice City Stories” etc.
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Then came GTA 5 in 2013. As the years go by, games get bigger and more complex, and Rockstar grows and takes on bigger titles that take more resources and focus, like the Red Dead Redemption series. Still, waiting more than five to 10 years for a GTA game to be released is a big leap, and one that gamers are conflicted about.
Rockstar has already announced that the PC port of the game could take several years to launch after it launches on consoles in 2025. As a former Rockstar employee explained, even with a PC port, developers “want it to be the best it can be.” Until Rockstar decides the PC port is worthy of release. If it takes this long to go smoothly, it’s no surprise that teams don’t release games until they reach expectations, and that’s why it’s important for a game as big as GTA 6 to do so. Even if there is, it may take some time to get it right. For example, Red Dead Redemption 2 took Rockstar eight years to develop and began development just months after the original Red Dead Redemption was released in 2010.
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Red Dead Redemption 2 also took up a lot of Rockstar’s resources during its development. Rockstar reportedly realized that it was too difficult for different studios to work on different projects, so they merged all the teams into one large unit of about 2,000 employees. It is reported that the focus was on “Red Dead Redemption 2.” With almost the entire development team focused on Red Dead 2, it’s easy to see why Grand Theft Auto 6 was put on the back burner.
Another setback was likely the pandemic. Over a period of about 2-3 years, many game studios and publishers found themselves significantly behind in game development. The team had to learn how to work remotely, which required a lot of training and setup. There was also the transition to next-gen consoles, and developers had to spend time learning about new features and specs.
What we know so far about GTA 6
Rockstar has been extremely secretive about Grand Theft Auto 6, despite multiple major content leaks over the past few years. The first official trailer will be released in late 2023, confirming a return to Vice City, the Miami-inspired location from the 2002 title. As always, there are plenty of wild locations, supercars, and interesting NPCs.
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But this time, fans got to see the first female protagonist in GTA history. The story appears to follow a relationship inspired by Bonnie and Clyde, with players able to control Lucia and Jason throughout the story. Bloomberg reported that the map was originally planned to include parts of South America as well, but while the official map will simply be a larger, more detailed version of Vice City, including beaches and buildings, the DLC will feature even more locations. may be added to continue updating the map. .
Various gameplay components have leaked since the official announcement, and this could be the biggest leak in video game history. Rockstar was able to remove all leaked footage, including shots of cars driving through the city. The leaker ended up being admitted to a secure hospital indefinitely after illegally posting 90 gameplay clips. But other than these now-erased clips, not much is known about Grand Theft Auto 6’s storyline, gameplay, or features.
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