GTA 5 dev says Rockstar stays quiet about GTA 6 on purpose because it creates "really cool theories" from fans: "All the developers over there are geeking out about it, trust me"

GTA 6 trailer screenshots — (Image credit: Rockstar Games)

One former Rockstar Games developer who worked as an animator on GTA 5 has given a little bit of insight into why the studio has remained so quiet about GTA 6, and he suggests it could be a very clever marketing tactic.

Over on his YouTube channel, Mike York says that Rockstar is "very secretive about what they do," but that in itself is "a really cool tactic, in a sense." While you could imagine that waiting so long to release another trailer for your highly anticipated blockbuster could kill hype somewhat, York suggests that leaving fans to their own devices essentially leads to them creating marketing for the game without Rockstar even having to lift a finger.

Talking about Rockstar's secretiveness, he explains: "It creates allure, and it creates mystery, and it creates people talking about it without them having to do anything, right? The more they're silent, the better it is, because the more people will be antsy and want to talk about it, and kind of have this feeling of not knowing what's going to happen. They could easily release the trailer date and be like, 'Hey, this is when the trailer's coming out,' but they don't do it, and they don't do it on purpose."

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York notes that this leads to "these really cool theories" that fans come up with to try and figure out more information and hints about new trailers. He specifically points to the recent theory fans had as they turned to the moon for answers on when the next GTA 6 trailer might drop as an example of this. That one, uh, didn't work (although I'm not sure how many of us are surprised).

York doesn't work at Rockstar anymore, but he does say that from his time there, he and his fellow colleagues enjoyed seeing what fans came up with – not just for game news, but ongoing riddles within released games, like the fabled Mt. Chiliad mystery in GTA 5. "All the developers over there are geeking out about it, trust me," he adds.

That said, he also admits that "a lot of these things are kind of like trolls; it's a mystery to nowhere," even going as far as to say that the aforementioned Mt. Chiliad mystery is "probably not solvable." Either way, though, attempting to solve things like this and desperately work out when the next GTA 6 trailer will drop brings the community together and keeps them engaged and hyped for years on end.

GTA 6 recently won the Most Wanted Game award at the Golden Joystick Awards, but for something to tide you over in the meantime, be sure to check out our picks for the best games of 2024.

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I'm GamesRadar+'s Deputy News Editor, working alongside the rest of the news team to deliver cool gaming stories that we love. After spending more hours than I can count filling The University of Sheffield's student newspaper with Pokemon and indie game content, and picking up a degree in Journalism Studies, I started my career at GAMINGbible where I worked as a journalist for over a year and a half. I then became TechRadar Gaming's news writer, where I sourced stories and wrote about all sorts of intriguing topics. In my spare time, you're sure to find me on my Nintendo Switch or PS5 playing through story-driven RPGs like Xenoblade Chronicles and Persona 5 Royal, nuzlocking old Pokemon games, or going for a Victory Royale in Fortnite.