Apparently Microsoft also thinks GTA 6 is coming in 2024

Three playable characters stand in a triangle wearing suits and holding guns in GTA 5 — (Image credit: Rockstar Games)

Microsoft seems to agree with rumors claiming GTA 6 will release in 2024.

As spotted by the ever-watchful GTA sleuths over on Twitter, the rumored GTA 6 release window was mentioned in Microsoft's latest response to the UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) investigation into its ongoing acquisition of Activision Blizzard.

In it, the console maker argues that Activision games don't make up a significant enough percentage of the market share to hurt competition, and it points to other major games and publishers, including Rockstar parent Take-Two Interactive, as a means of defense. In the process of saying practically anything to make Call of Duty look less valuable, Microsoft singles out GTA 6 as one of the big-wig games on the horizon.

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"The highly anticipated Grand Theft Auto VI is expected to be released in 2024," a portion of Microsoft's response reads.

While that reads a lot like a confirmed GTA 6 release window, Microsoft actually cites a TechRadar article on this point, which itself cites a report from Bloomberg. That article claims "current and former Rockstar staff reckon GTA 6 is still at least two years away from release, suggesting a 2024 launch."

It's entirely possible that Microsoft, being the major platform owner it is, has inside knowledge as to Rockstar's plans for GTA 6, but it's also possible it's purely referring to publicly available reports and rumors when it says GTA 6 is expected to launch in 2024.

Neither Rockstar nor its parent company Take-Two have confirmed a release date or even a target year for GTA 6. However, the fact that Microsoft has shared these claims in an official report, without contesting them, seems notable in and of itself, even if it is part of a smokescreen of big games meant to cover Call of Duty.

Rockstar recently called the massive GTA 6 leak from September "terribly disappointing" but assured fans it won't affect the game's development, which is good news for the millions eagerly waiting for its release.

It's also good news for Rockstar and Take-Two, as after nine years, GTA 5 sales are finally starting to slow down.

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After earning an English degree from ASU, I worked as a corporate copy editor while freelancing for places like SFX Magazine, Screen Rant, Game Revolution, and MMORPG on the side. I got my big break here in 2019 with a freelance news gig, and I was hired on as GamesRadar's west coast Staff Writer in 2021. That means I'm responsible for managing the site's western regional executive branch, AKA my home office, and writing about whatever horror game I'm too afraid to finish.