GTA 6 reportedly early in development, may launch smaller and expand with regular updates

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The next Grand Theft Auto game may be a bit different from what we're used to

(Image credit: Rockstar Games)

GTA 6 is reportedly in the early stages of development, and compared to recent entries in the series, it may wind up being more of a live service title like GTA Online.

A new report from Kotaku, which follows up on its investigation into a culture of crunch described by many Rockstar employees, also discusses the studio's plans for the future. In particular, it notes that Rockstar management has outlined a plan for the next GTA. It’s worth noting that the Kotaku report never refers to it as GTA 6, just as “a new entry in the Grand Theft Auto series”. For clarity, we’ll continue to refer to it as GTA 6. 

The sequel will reportedly be a "moderately sized" game at launch and then be expanded through regular updates. This makes it sound like Rockstar is planning to integrate the structure and rhythm of GTA Online into GTA's next main release. The thinking is that this will lighten the studio's immediate workload and help mitigate crunch. 

However, this is just one potential plan for the game, and it seems GTA 6 is still very early in development. It's unclear whether Rockstar will go through with this plan in the first place, nor can we predict how GTA 6 might evolve as it comes into form. Although the report doesn’t have any additional details on a potential GTA 6, the fact it’s so early in development implies it could well be a next-gen exclusive.   

If nothing else, this report pours cold water on rumors of an imminent GTA 6 announcement. And with Rockstar still considering how to handle the game as a whole, alleged leaks regarding the content of the next GTA should also be taken with extra salt. 

Here are 10 games like GTA that you can play while you wait for Rockstar's next crime sandbox.  

Austin Wood
Austin Wood
Senior writer

Austin has been a game journalist for 12 years, having freelanced for the likes of PC Gamer, Eurogamer, IGN, Sports Illustrated, and more while finishing his journalism degree. He's been with GamesRadar+ since 2019. They've yet to realize his position is a cover for his career-spanning Destiny column, and he's kept the ruse going with a lot of news and the occasional feature, all while playing as many roguelikes as possible.