For the quickest way to join, simply enter your email below and get access. We will send a confirmation and sign you up to our newsletter to keep you updated on all your gaming news.
Triple-A or AAA is normally a pretty non-descript way of saying a game costs a lot of money to make. AAA games are the summer blockbusters of the industry, but one veteran took the AAA arms race to the next level by declaring that GTA 6 is a "AAAAA" release.
Nigel Lowrie, who co-founded boutique publisher Devolver Digital, recently came out to say that basically no other video game series can touch Grand Theft Auto in terms of "cultural impact" or "scope."
Speaking to IGN, Lowrie explained, "There are AAA games and then there's AAAA games, and I'd argue that Grand Theft Auto is potentially the AAAAA game; it's just bigger than anything else both in the scope and scale of the game and the kind of cultural impact that it has and the attention it demands."
If a AAA tag signifies a big-budget and big public awareness, AAAAA just means an ever bigger budget and a place in the cultural consciousness, though it's generally a kinda silly way to talk about games because it's mostly based on vibes.
Devolver Digital itself joked that it would launch a game on the same day as GTA 6's release date, next May, which could potentially be a good counter-programming move, but it's not a strategy the publisher used when recently delaying Baby Steps out of Hollow Knight Silksong's orbit.
"You can't AB test reality," Lowrie said. "Maybe Baby Steps would've just been fine September 8, it could have been. But am I willing to risk this team's livelihood and the future of the game they've worked on for five years to see if they both work out? I'm not. And I also want to listen to what they want, and what they want is to have their own spotlight and I couldn't agree more."
Sign up to the GamesRadar+ Newsletter
Weekly digests, tales from the communities you love, and more
So, who knows, maybe that mysterious Devolver Digital game won't release alongside GTA 6, after all.
Kaan freelances for various websites including Rock Paper Shotgun, Eurogamer, and this one, Gamesradar. He particularly enjoys writing about spooky indies, throwback RPGs, and anything that's vaguely silly. Also has an English Literature and Film Studies degree that he'll soon forget.
You must confirm your public display name before commenting
Please logout and then login again, you will then be prompted to enter your display name.
Join The Community
