#How lengthy has GTA 6 been in improvement at Rockstar? A timeline

It’s no secret that GTA 6 is nearly definitely going to be one of many greatest releases in current gaming historical past, if not the greatest. Because the fifth sport in Rockstar’s monstrously profitable Grand Theft Auto collection was launched again in 2013, many eagerly anticipate the subsequent installment.

We all know the studio has been engaged on it for what seems like an eternity. We’ve had dribs and drabs of official particulars, many, many rumors, and a teaser trailer that shortly grew to become one of the watched movies on YouTube. In brief, we’re very a lot prepared for the subsequent sport.

However how lengthy has Rockstar really been engaged on GTA 6? With a purpose to impart some concept of how lengthy it’s been in improvement, I’ve put collectively a short timeline, displaying a number of the larger bulletins. I feel we will all agree, although, that it’s been within the pipeline for a ridiculously very long time.

GTA 6 timeline, defined

The online that’s Grand Theft Auto 6‘s timeline is difficult to untangle, however not unimaginable. Many of the info comes from rumors, however a number of concrete particulars give us an concept of when GTA 6 began improvement. Let’s break down the entire timeline:

• 2014 – Growth on GTA 6 reportedly started, a few 12 months after Grand Theft Auto 5 was launched.
• February 4, 2022 – About eight years into improvement, Rockstar posts a neighborhood replace, confirming that “energetic improvement for the subsequent entry within the Grand Theft Auto collection is properly underway.”
• July 2, 2022 – Just a few months later, one other submit on the Rockstar Video games web site says the staff has been “steadily transferring extra improvement assets” in the direction of GTA 6. This was additionally across the time the studio stated it was altering the way it supported Purple Lifeless On-line.
• July 27, 2022 – A report from Bloomberg (paywall) confirmed that GTA 6 would have a feminine protagonist, the primary time this had been the case within the franchise’s 25-year historical past.
• August 8, 2022 – GTA 5 reaches a gross sales milestone of 170 million items as mum or dad firm Take-Two Interactive restates that the subsequent entry within the collection was properly into improvement, as famous on this convention name.
• September 18 & September 19, 2022 – The large GTA 6 leaks occur, during which early footage from the sport is leaked to the general public, showcasing the work the studio has put into it to date. A day later, Rockstar confirms the event footage was the results of a “community intrusion.”
• November 8, 2023 – The developer sends out a message, asserting that the first official Grand Theft Auto 6 trailer will likely be launched in December of that 12 months. The sport had been in improvement for nearly a decade at this level.
• December 4, 2023 – Shock! The trailer is leaked simply 15 hours earlier than it was alleged to. In line with YouTube, it racked up 93 million views in 24 hours.
• December 5, 2023 – Rockstar launches the Grand Theft Auto 6 web site.
• February 28, 2024 – The studio asks workers to return to the workplace as GTA 6 enters the “last stretch of improvement.” A launch date feels imminent at this level.
• Might 16, 2024 – Take-Two Interactive confirms a launch date of “Autumn 2025,” as famous in a report from Selection.
• February 10, 2025 – CEO of Take-Two, Strauss Zelnick, neither confirms nor denies whether or not GTA 6 will come to PC.
• Might 2, 2025 – Grand Theft Auto 6 has been delayed to Might 26, 2026, as per an announcement from Rockstar Video games.

Growth for GTA 6 is believed to have began as quickly as GTA 5 was launched. Nevertheless, contemplating that Purple Lifeless Redemption 2 was the subsequent main challenge on Rockstar Video games’ radar, work on the next Grand Theft Auto installment might not have absolutely taken off at that time. My guess is that if something started in 2014, it was probably simply the early concept section moderately than full improvement. The true improvement in all probability didn’t begin till Purple Lifeless Redemption 2 launched on October 26, 2018. From then on, it was probably all palms on deck at Rockstar Video games, other than the groups targeted on GTA and Purple Lifeless On-line.

This hypothesis traces up with Rockstar Video games’ official affirmation in early 2022 that the subsequent entry within the Grand Theft Auto collection was “properly underway.” Whereas we don’t have an actual timeline, there are two affordable estimates. If we go by the speculation that improvement started proper after GTA 5, it will be about 11 years. But when we base it on the post-Purple Lifeless Redemption 2 timeline, it’s nearer to seven years.

However, we additionally should keep in mind GTA 6‘s current delay announcement. Now that the sport has been pushed to 2026, its estimated improvement time is someplace between eight and twelve years. This marks the longest improvement cycle in Rockstar Video games’ historical past, with Purple Lifeless Redemption 2 reportedly coming in second at round eight years. And albeit, there may nonetheless be one other delay on the horizon if the staff feels there’s extra sprucing to be achieved.

It’s positively been a protracted wait, however hopefully information is simply across the nook, whether or not it’s the extremely anticipated Trailer 2 or perhaps a few new screenshots. Judging by the insane stage of visible element and the anticipated huge scale of the map, it’s no shock that Grand Theft Auto 6 has taken this lengthy to construct. The large query now could be: will it really reside as much as the hype and even surpass the legacy that GTA 5 left behind? Solely time will inform. Whereas we await extra info, you should definitely try the newest leaks concerning the sport and who may very well be the subsequent GOTY winner, with GTA 6 out of the race.