There has been a lot of speculation aboutGrand Theft Auto 6this month, with many fans poring over rumored leaks to try and figure out what stage of production the next game in Rockstar’s iconic satirical series is in, and any other details they can find about the story and setting. Even people involved in the last game have come forward with comments about the potential for the sequel.
Fans, however, might be waiting longer than expected forGrand Theft Auto 6to hit store shelves. Based upon some details from a few of the leaks, comments made by people involved in previous games, and the pattern of some previousGrand Theft Autoreleases, there are some good reasons for fans not to expect a direct sequel to be announced any time soon. However, it is possible another big announcement could be on the way.
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The Vice City Connection
It has long been rumored that the setting forGTA 6will be Vice City. In October 2019, a Reddit post by user Fresh305954 claimed that the user was working in Wynwood, a neighborhood in Miami, when a scout for Rockstar came to take pictures of the interior of their work to help build a basis for the design in the nextGrand Theft Autogame.
The user later posted a picture of what they claimed was a contract stipulating the terms of that agreement with Rockstar, though of course the leak could be entirely made up. However, Wynwood is an area known for its colorful murals and unique visual identity. This would appear to support the claims of the Reddit user, as the area would certainly provide a great basis for creating an over-the-top and colorful rendition of Miami viaGTA’s Vice City.
However, the fact that this was back in October 2019 could mean that, even if it is true and if the pictures were being taken for the early stages ofGrand Theft Auto 6’s development, fans could still be waiting a while for the next game. Not only would it imply that the game was in the early stages of development in late 2019, but there’s no way to know the effect that the pandemic has had on the development of the games which Rockstar is still keeping under wraps. It is certainly possible that things were held up, especially if the early stages required people going out to locations to scout them in person.
However, it definitely makes sense that the nextGTAwould be set in Vice City. Rockstar has already returned players to iconic in-game locales like Los Santos andLiberty City, leaving Vice City one of the few major fictionalized cities that has not made a return in the more recent installments of the series. Indeed, Vice City hasn’t been seen since all the way back in 2002 in theGTAgame of the same name, which would mean that rendering it in Rockstar’s modern engine would still likely feel like a fresh take on the location, hence the scouting.
There are also some rumors from all the way back in 2018 which indicated that the nextGTAwould be set in both Vice City and parts of South America, with the next game being codenamed “Project Americas” at Rockstar. This would line up with the claimed contract in Wynwood, but it is also possible that those earlier leaks provided the basis for later false leaks and that what appears to be consistency is in fact speculation based upon speculation.
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Other Evidence
Furthermore, the three mainGTA 5voice actors have been pretty vocal about the rumors surrounding the next game, and their comments indicate thatGTA 6may be further away than many fans had hoped. “They sayGTA 6 is gonna be made in Vice City. How do all these people get all this information on what’s gonna be what?” said Ned Luke, the voice actor for Michael De Santa. “Do not believe anything you see on the internet,” he said, adding that “if you hear it from Rockstar, then you know.”
Shawn Fonteno, voice of Franklin, added that “it’s a process to make these games,” indicating that fans may be waiting a while. Trevor’s voice actor Steven Ogg, however, hinted that fans could “do the math” and thatGTA 6would be releasing “soon” because the games take “7 or 8 years to make,” only adding fuel to the fire. Once again this took place back in 2019, however, and the lack of news since does seem to indicate that the new game will be a while away if indeed it does exist.
It is also possible that the next game will not beGTA 6, but will follow the pattern ofGTA: Vice CityandGTA: San Andreas,taking players back to Vice City but in the engine of the previous game, with Rockstar still holding out on releasingGrand Theft Auto 6until a later date.
Finally, studio co-founderDan Houser, who has since left Rockstar, has talked at length about the difficulty of developing aGTAgame in the modern American political climate, saying that keeping the game’s satirical edge while keeping up with today’s rapidly changing events would be a hugely difficult task for Rockstar, not to mention the potential controversy of that satire.
All together this makes it seem likely that fans will still have to wait a while beforeGTA 6, though a game involving Vice City could still be a possibility in the not-too-distant future. With some fans becoming increasingly exasperated as Rockstar appears to continue working primarily onGrand Theft Auto Online, the pressure could be on for Rockstar to deliver, but it could also be exactly what is preventing them from embarking on the project to begin with. For now, however, fans will have to wait for confirmation from Rockstar to know for sure thatGTA 6is in production, and whether or not fans can expect to return to the sunny beaches of Vice City any time soon.
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