After years of rumours and reports, Rockstar has confirmed it's working on a new Grand Theft Auto game, and said that it's "well underway".
In a new press release, a Rockstar spokesperson wrote:
"With the unprecedented longevity of GTAV, we know many of you have been asking us about a new entry in the Grand Theft Auto series. With every new project we embark on, our goal is always to significantly move beyond what we have previously delivered — and we are pleased to confirm that active development for the next entry in the Grand Theft Auto series is well underway. We look forward to sharing more as soon as we are ready, so please stay tuned to the Rockstar Newswire for official details.
On behalf of our entire team, we thank you all for your support and cannot wait to step into the future with you!"
IGN reported that GTA 6 – if that is indeed what the game ends up being called – was in development back in 2020, but that it was a long way from release. Further reports pegged the game to arrive in 2024 or 2025.
As for the game itself, Rockstar isn't saying any more right now, or committing to when it will say more. Previous reports have said that the initial version of GTA 6 could be smaller than GTA 5, with updates used to build on it over time. Other reports say that the game will return to a Miami-inspired Vice City setting, and some fans even think Rockstar snuck a first screenshot into the GTA Trilogy remasters.
Last year, Rockstar patented a new system for NPC navigation, which some believe will be used in the next GTA. The system is designed to make for more realistic traffic behaviour, creating more life-like road users – with a particular view to making it useful in a "multiplayer network gaming community."
This will be the first modern GTA game released after the departure of Rockstar co-founder Dan Houser, who helped write all the GTA games from 2 to 5, as well as the Red Dead series, Bully, and Max Payne 3. His brother, Sam Houser, remains on the project.
Joe Skrebels is IGN's Executive Editor of News. Follow him on Twitter. Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to newstips@ign.com.
