Just like CD Projekt Red with The Witcher 4, Rockstar isn't quite ready to call it GTA 6 just yet

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

GTA 6 has been officially announced. Sort of. After keeping us guessing for a full 18 months and making us wait more than a decade for a follow-up to GTA 5, Rockstar says it's all set to reveal the GTA 6 trailer next month. Except it doesn't want to call it GTA 6 just yet.

In its announcement tweet, Rockstar co-founder Sam Houser says, "We are very excited to let you know that in early December, we will release the first trailer for the next Grand Theft Auto." As with any reveal of this kind, it will have been intricately crafted behind the scenes, and it's worth noting that Rockstar has opted not to use the exact words 'Grand Theft Auto 6.'

That doesn't necessarily mean that that won't be the title of the next game. There's a (very) slim chance that Rockstar is still finalizing the name, but it's much more likely that it's waiting for a grand reveal with that trailer. That said, there's also a chance that it's not called GTA 6 - San Andreas and Vice City are both reminders that the studio doesn't always subscribe to numbered sequels, and that's to say nothing of Vice City Stories or Liberty City Stories. The smart money says that it's still called GTA 6, but nothing's ever a dead cert.

The whole situation is reminiscent of CD Projekt Red and its announcement of the "new Witcher saga." The announcement of games four, five, and six in its fantasy series was obviously tied to the expectation of The Witcher 4, but senior developers shot down that assumption, and it would be several months before representatives of the studio would first say the words 'The Witcher 4' in that order. There's still no word on what that game will eventually be called, but given the series' naming conventions up until now, I'd guess the number four will be closely followed by a Wild Hunt-esque subhead.

There's nothing to suggest that Rockstar will follow suit - it'll want to set its new entry apart from GTA 5 in a way that it didn't need to do for its suite of GTA 3 generation games - but it's still interesting to imagine exactly why we're yet to see the company officially say the words 'GTA 6'.

GTA 6 sleuth thinks they've already located the official trailer, but no one believed them until now.

I'm GamesRadar's Managing Editor for news, shaping the news strategy across the team. I started my journalistic career while getting my degree in English Literature at the University of Warwick, where I also worked as Games Editor on the student newspaper, The Boar. Since then, I've run the news sections at PCGamesN and Kotaku UK, and also regularly contributed to PC Gamer. As you might be able to tell, PC is my platform of choice, so you can regularly find me playing League of Legends or Steam's latest indie hit.