GTA VI and GTA 6 Launch Timeline

Industry analysts anticipate that the next Grand Theft Auto will be out sometime in Take-Two’s 2024 fiscal year, which runs from April 2023 through March 2024, but developers are skeptical. The game has been in development in some form since 2014. Although there are loose schedules in place, people interviewed for this article said they didn’t know of any firm release date and that they expect the game to be at least two years away. Earlier this year, a group of designers quit Rockstar’s Edinburgh office, telling colleagues they were sick of the lack of progress.

What's Next

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!

- Rockstar Games

After a public controversy four years ago, Rockstar, the maker of Grand Theft Auto, is reinventing itself as a kinder, gentler company. But employees aren’t sure it can still produce the chart-topping caliber of game the studio has become known for.

The development of Grand Theft Auto VI has been slower than impatient fans and even longtime employees have expected, despite morale across the company being higher than ever, according to many staffers. Between the company’s new direction and the 2019 departure of Dan Houser, who led creative direction on many previous games, all indications suggest Grand Theft Auto VI will feel very different than its predecessor.

Here’s what we know.

There will be a female protagonist

The game will feature a playable female protagonist for the first time, according to people familiar with the matter. The woman is Latina and will be one of a pair of leading characters in a story influenced by the bank robbers Bonnie and Clyde. Developers are also being cautious not to “punch down” by making jokes about marginalized groups, the people said, in contrast with previous Grand Theft Auto games.

The game’s release is likely two years away

Industry analysts anticipate that the next Grand Theft Auto will be out sometime in Take-Two’s 2024 fiscal year, which runs from April 2023 through March 2024, but developers are skeptical. The game has been in development in some form since 2014. Although there are loose schedules in place, people interviewed for this article said they didn’t know of any firm release date and that they expect the game to be at least two years away. Earlier this year, a group of designers quit Rockstar’s Edinburgh office, telling colleagues they were sick of the lack of progress.

Rockstar wanted to include large portions of North and South America but had to be reeled in

Original plans for the title, which is code-named Project Americas, were for it to be bigger than any Grand Theft Auto game to date. Early designs called for the inclusion of territories modeled after large swaths of North and South America, according to people familiar with the plans.

The new map is a fictionalized Miami but will update over time

The game’s new map is now focused on a fictional version of Miami and its surrounding areas. Rockstar’s plan is to continually update the game over time, adding new missions and cities on a regular basis, which leadership hopes will lead to less crunch during the game’s final months.

Sales of Grand Theft Auto V also remained strong, and to date, the title has sold-in nearly 170 million units. With development of the next entry in the Grand Theft Auto series well underway, the Rockstar Games team is determined to once again set creative benchmarks for the series, our industry, and for all entertainment, just as the label has done with every one of their frontline releases.

We recently suffered a network intrusion in which an unauthorized third party illegally accessed and downloaded confidential information from our systems, including early development footage of the next Grand Theft Auto. At this time, we do not anticipate any disruption to our live game services nor any long-term effect on the development of our ongoing projects.

We are extremely disappointed to have any details of our next game shared with you all in this way. Our work on the next Grand Theft Auto game will continue as planned and we remain as committed as ever to delivering the experience to you, our players, that truly exceeds your expectations. We will update everyone again soon and, of course, will properly introduce you to the next game when it is ready. We want to thank everyone for their ongoing support through this situation.