Grand Theft Auto 5 launched in 2013 and ever since then, Rockstar has been filling GTA Online, the pseudo MMO multiplayer mode, with DLC. No official word on a sequel has ever been given, but a number of leaks, job postings, former employee LinkedIn profiles, indirect statements and reports have shown that a GTA 6 is indeed in development.
This unannounced game has been the subject of possibly the most speculation, rumors and leaks in the gaming world ever since the previous title was released, and now it is another one such leaked report that indicates the project has hit some snags. A known industry informant, posting on Twitter as AccNGT with a previous track record of accurate predictions and leaks that proved to be true posted about the apparently troubled development of GTA 6. They claim that most people don’t know “how chaotic the development is” and that some aspects will be a “disappointment” - though not the graphics. AccNGT goes on to say that if the game gets announced soon - meaning this month or early 2022 - then players should be really worried. This is presumably because in its current state, the game isn’t really up to Rockstar’s standard and an announcement would mean a release soon, implying insufficient development time to turn whatever they have now into a good game.
- Some people don’t realize how chaotic the development is.- I really think there will be disappointment for many people for some aspects (ofc not the graphic side).- If the game is announced this year / early 2022, we can really be worried. — AccNGT (@AccNgt) December 11, 2021 While one Tweet - even one from a reputable source - shouldn’t be taken as certainty, trouble with the development of GTA 6 does unfortunately make sense. Theories about GTA Online’s explosive success hurting the sequel have been rife for years now, and at this point whether they’re true or not the implication could well be the same. If Take-Two Interactive deliberately prioritized GTA Online over GTA 6 due to the high profitability of the multiplayer mode, it could mean that the production of the sequel was resource starved - fewer developers with a smaller budget would likely struggle with a major AAA project, especially if a lot of attention is given to next-gen visuals, as the Tweet implies. If Take-Two Interactive didn’t sabotage GTA 6 in favor of Online, then the fact that we still haven’t heard any official word confirms that there are problems. Even if the next installment in the series would launch right now, the gap between GTA 5 and 6 would be by far the largest in the franchise history, and we don’t even have an announcement yet. Since we know GTA Online is going standalone, and previous statements indicate GTA 6 will be a smaller, more modest release without a multiplayer component in order to curb crunch culture at Rockstar, it’s safe to assume we should have heard something over the years - but complete radio silence could be indication that the project is struggling. The lack of any word on GTA 6 fueled speculation, jokes, memes and rumors over the years, but recently some in the GTA fandom have taken displays of their anticipation too far. Demanding news about a video game with protest signs at real-life events in person is definitely not having a normal one, and it’s happened more than once. Online, fans are even more vocal, with Rockstar having to police comments. Considering the sorry state in which GTA: The Trilogy - The Definitive Edition launched recently, the patina of the franchise has already taken a hit - sure, that wasn’t actually developed by Rockstar, but the brand image was still affected. After this, another bungled launch would be even worse. That said, we definitely don’t see them revealing GTA 6 anytime soon. Compared to the biggest, most legitimate-seeming leak corroborated by reputable industry insiders like Tom Henderson and Jason Schreier, any announcement and release is still years away, so the timeframe of “this year / early 2022” that the Tweet warns against seems entirely unrealistic anyway. In any case, we would rather see Rockstar Games take their time with GTA 6 than to rush out a subpar title to meet demands, but taking too much longer will definitely see it reach a level of hype no game could legitimately live up to by critical mass alone. At this point, it’s hard to turn things away from a lose-lose situation. We’ll have to wait and see.
