How long has GTA 6 been in development at Rockstar? A timeline
It's no secret that GTA 6 is almost certainly going to be one of the biggest releases in recent gaming history, if not the biggest. Since the fifth game in Rockstar's monstrously lucrative Grand Theft Auto series was released back in 2013, many eagerly anticipate the next installment.
We know the studio has been working on it for what feels like an eternity. We've had dribs and drabs of official details, many, many rumors, and a teaser trailer that quickly became one of the most watched videos on YouTube. In short, we're very much ready for the next game.
But how long has Rockstar actually been working on GTA 6 ? In order to impart some idea of how long it's been in development, I've put together a brief timeline, showing some of the bigger announcements. I think we can all agree, though, that it's been in the pipeline for a ridiculously long time.
GTA 6 timeline, explained
The web that is Grand Theft Auto 6 's timeline is challenging to untangle, but not impossible. Most of the information comes from rumors, but a few concrete details give us an idea of when GTA 6 started development. Let's break down the complete timeline:
2014 - Development on GTA 6 reportedly began, about a year after Grand Theft Auto 5 was released.
February 4, 2022 - About eight years into development, Rockstar posts a community update , confirming that "active development for the next entry in the Grand Theft Auto series is well underway."
July 2, 2022 - A few months later, another post on the Rockstar Games website says the team has been "steadily moving more development resources" towards GTA 6 . This was also around the time the studio said it was changing how it supported Red Dead Online .
July 27, 2022 - A report from Bloomberg (paywall) confirmed that GTA 6 would have a female protagonist, the first time this had been the case in the franchise's 25-year history.
August 8, 2022 - GTA 5 reaches a sales milestone of 170 million units as parent company Take-Two Interactive restates that the next entry in the series was well into development, as noted in this conference call .
September 18 & September 19, 2022 - The big GTA 6 leaks happen, in which early footage from the game is leaked to the public, showcasing the work the studio has put into it thus far. A day later, Rockstar confirms the development footage was the result of a "network intrusion."
November 8, 2023 - The developer sends out a message, announcing that the first official Grand Theft Auto 6 trailer will be released in December of that year. The game had been in development for almost a decade at this point.
December 4, 2023 - Surprise! The trailer is leaked just 15 hours before it was supposed to. According to YouTube , it racked up 93 million views in 24 hours.
December 5, 2023 - Rockstar launches the Grand Theft Auto 6 website .
February 28, 2024 - The studio asks staff to return to the office as GTA 6 enters the "final stretch of development." A release date feels imminent at this point.
May 16, 2024 - Take-Two Interactive confirms a release date of "Autumn 2025," as noted in a report from Variety .
February 10, 2025 - CEO of Take-Two, Strauss Zelnick, neither confirms nor denies whether GTA 6 will come to PC .
May 2, 2025 - Grand Theft Auto 6 has been delayed to May 26, 2026, as per an announcement from Rockstar Games.
Development for GTA 6 is believed to have started as soon as GTA 5 was released. However, considering that Red Dead Redemption 2 was the next major project on Rockstar Games' radar, work on the following Grand Theft Auto installment may not have fully taken off at that point. My guess is that if anything began in 2014, it was likely just the early idea phase rather than full development. The real development probably didn't start until Red Dead Redemption 2 launched on October 26, 2018. From then on, it was likely all hands on deck at Rockstar Games, aside from the teams focused on GTA and Red Dead Online .
Image via Rockstar Games
This speculation lines up with Rockstar Games' official confirmation in early 2022 that the next entry in the Grand Theft Auto series was "well underway." While we don't have an exact timeline, there are two reasonable estimates. If we go by the theory that development began right after GTA 5 , it would be about 11 years. But if we base it on the post- Red Dead Redemption 2 timeline, it's closer to seven years.
On the other hand, we also have to take into account GTA 6 's recent delay announcement. Now that the game has been pushed to 2026, its estimated development time is somewhere between eight and twelve years. This marks the longest development cycle in Rockstar Games' history, with Red Dead Redemption 2 reportedly coming in second at around eight years. And frankly, there could still be another delay on the horizon if the team feels there's more polishing to be done.
It's definitely been a long wait, but hopefully, news is just around the corner, whether it's the highly anticipated Trailer 2 or even a few new screenshots. Judging by the insane level of visual detail and the expected massive scale of the map, it's no surprise that Grand Theft Auto 6 has taken this long to build. The big question now is: will it actually live up to the hype or even surpass the legacy that GTA 5 left behind? Only time will tell. While we wait for more information, be sure to check out the latest leaks about the game and who could be the next GOTY winner , with GTA 6 out of the race.
The post How long has GTA 6 been in development at Rockstar? A timeline appeared first on Destructoid .
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