Don’t mind the 12-year wait — ex Rockstar dev suggests GTA 6 production really started in 2018

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'We got Red Dead Redemption 2 before GTA 6'... is that how the joke works?

GTA 6
(Image credit: Rockstar Games)

We've all been waiting on GTA 6 for over a decade now, with GTA 5 being just under 12 years old now (and it will be almost 13 by the time the game releases thanks to the new delay). However, despite how good the new GTA 6 trailer looks, being packed full of impressive visual details like realistic beer bottles and cloth animations, the game hasn't been in active development for that whole time.

Environment artist David O'Reilly – who worked at Rockstar during the development of GTA 5, Red Dead Redemption 2, and GTA 6 before leaving in 2023 – has posted a video on his YouTube channel, Game World Art, reacting to the new GTA reveals. However, during the start of the video "Ex-Rockstar Artist Reacts to GTA6 Trailer 2 Screenshots" he said, "I worked on GTA 6 from 2018 to 2023, [I] went on to it after we wrapped on RDR2." Considering every single one of Rockstar's teams pulled together to work on the Red Dead Redemption sequel, it's pretty much a confirmation that GTA 6 didn't actually go into full development until 2018.

That being said, that doesn't mean nothing was being done with the game until then; preliminary work on Red Dead Redemption 2 was being done before GTA 5 was released. It's safe to assume that it's probably the same case for GTA 6 – with pre-production reportedly starting in 2014. However, this gives us a good idea of when things really got put into motion.

Scott McCrae
Scott McCrae
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Scott has been freelancing for over three years across a number of different gaming publications, first appearing on GamesRadar+ in 2024. He has also written for the likes of PC Gamer, Eurogamer, VG247, Play, TechRadar, and others. He's typically rambling about Metal Gear Solid, God Hand, or any other PS2-era titles that rarely (if ever) get sequels.

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