With no word from Rockstar on a new installment in the Grand Theft Auto franchise, rumor are being left to freely circulate. As reported by Gamespot, the latest comes from renowned leaker Tom Henderson who claims Grand Theft Auto 6 won’t be released until 2025. While there are many reasons for this, the main one is to avoid the crunch conditions for which the studio already has a bad reputation.
Grand Theft Auto V was originally released in 2013 and will soon be released on a third generation of consoles, arriving on PlayStation 5 on November 11. Because this title continues to bring in a fair amount of revenue, this is giving Rockstar the room to be able to take their time with the sequel’s development. This will also help the studio avoid the crunch conditions that have given the studio a reputation, including 100-hour weeks, mandatory overtime, and fear tactics.
Another reason for the lengthy wait is the game will only be coming to PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC. Because the consoles are fairly new and the supply of consoles can’t meet demand, the developer also wants to wait until more units are in the hands of players so it will maximise sales. Parent company Take-Two Interactive has repeatedly refused to confirm a timeline for the upcoming title. As such, Henderson believes the game isn’t likely to be released until 2025 and Rockstar wants to avoid any delays if possible.
The game has previously rumored to be set in Vice City again, but this time it will be set in the modern day. This will give the developers more freedom to create content for the game as they won’t be restricted by the previously rumored 1980s setting, something that was debunked shortly afterwards. Other reported features will include multiple protagonists and the potential for the game map to change over time. Henderson described the latter as similar to how the Fortnite map is overhauled for new seasons.
Henderson has leaked details about big-name titles before, including Call of Duty. His most recent leak was about the Battlefield 2042 Hazard Zone and Battlefield Hub modes, something that is yet to be proven true or false. As usual, this information should be taken with a massive pinch of salt in the meantime.
