An overlooked but incredibly promising open-world game that needs all the attention it can get, called GTA 6, has been spared humiliation.
Molleindustria – the developer of some really interesting, politically charged indie games fronted by Paolo Pedercini – had planned to embarrass GTA 6 come launch. For an entire year, the indie outfit said it was going to release its own narrative-driven, open-world game (Future? No Thanks!) alongside GTA 6.
But as we count down the weeks to GTA 6's November release date, Molleindustria has shown mercy. Future? No Thanks! is now coming out on July 22. I can practically hear the sighs of relief coming from Take-Two and Rockstar's offices.
"Last year, we promised to release our upcoming game, Future? No Thanks! on the same day as Grand Theft Auto 6 in order to humiliate Rockstar in the open-world genre and deliver the killing blow to the Western game industry," the developer writes on social media.
"However, after repeatedly aligning our timeline with Rockstar's and delaying our release date alongside theirs, we realized we were at serious risk of making the game too polished, too bloated, and ultimately inauthentic," it continues. "Moreover, our superintelligent Marxist models forecast an unprecedented recession in the fourth quarter of 2026, with negative implications for gamers' disposable income and short-term demand for ecosocialist narratives. We had no choice but to move the release date up to July 22."
In all seriousness, Future? No Thanks! isn't gunning for the same crowds as GTA 6, but it still looks like one of the more interesting new games on the horizon. Set in 2045, the world is seemingly thriving. Climate change is being tackled, democracy is being upheld, and technology isn't being used to slowly erode our way of life – our grumpy old man protag still isn't happy, however.
The game's Steam page describes the bad-mouthed gramps as someone who "no longer fits in" and wants to check everything off his bucket list before his "self-scheduled euthanasia." Hence, the name and the goal of the game. "Indulge in outdated pleasures, explore a post-post-industrial Midwest, clash with a society that's moved on without you, and maybe, just maybe, leave with fewer regrets." It's on my wishlist, that's for sure.
