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The world of video games moves so quickly, that the GTA 6 leak already feels like a long time ago. That might be because we were shown so much on September 18 of Rockstar's next ambitious in-development open-world crime simulator, that the expected silence following such an unprecedented hack has felt jarring. Around 90 videos and screenshots were mined from that test build of the game seven weeks ago, and while the developer responded with an official statement to its ~15 million Twitter followers the next day, the GTA 6 leak was bound to be discussed at publisher Take-Two's next quarterly financial earnings call.
That call was on Monday, November 7, where Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick again stressed his disappointment with the situation while reaffirming the leak "[certainly] won't have any influence on development or anything of the sort". Reading between the lines elsewhere on the earnings forecast, it would appear sales of GTA 5 are, at this point at least, finally beginning to slow down. Which begs the question: Is this the start of the home stretch for Grand Theft Auto 6?
Moving house
Ignore the GTA 6 leak, the full Rockstar reveal will be worth the wait. This was my immediate reaction to the September hack, simply because such a big part of what I enjoy about the build-up to Grand Theft Auto games is Rockstar's talent for delivering above and beyond our expectations. The big worry for prospective players in the aftermath of the leak was that the sixth main series installment would take even longer to arrive, with the gap between games now nine years and counting. A big part of that wait was driven by development priorities shifting to Red Dead Redemption 2 for its launch in 2018, not to mention the abiding success of GTA 5 and its online offshoot GTA Online.
It might be a stretch to say that appeal is waning there, but, on November's earnings call Take-Two's executive vice president of finance, Hannah Sage, said the company now only updates GTA 5's sales in increments of five million, pointing to a sales update that pegs number five at around "more than" 170 million copies sold today. Last quarter, Take-Two said GTA 5 was "nearly" at 170 million copies. And so, as pointed out by number-watchers on social media, if GTA 5 hypothetically sold one million copies between August and November this year – an incredible number for any game, far less one now almost a decade old – that'd make the most recent quarter its least successful since launch in 2013. With the Grand Theft Auto series as a whole having now sold over 385 million copies worldwide, however, that is still, of course, some going.
The next episode
"I think it's probably fair to say Rockstar enters the next stretch of its storied history with a point to prove."
Despite these still impressive sales numbers, though, between the GTA 6 leak – surely one of the biggest, if not the biggest leak in the history of video games – and the turbulent launch of the third-party-developed GTA Trilogy, the last 12 months have been some of the most turbulent Rockstar and Take-Two have ever endured. In business, sales determine success, sure, but this is a company so used to being idolized across the board. When you throw in a vocal revolt among a sizable slice of Red Dead Redemption 2's playerbase, I think it's probably fair to say Rockstar enters the next stretch of its storied history with a point to prove.
Take-Two admitted it has always expected GTA 5's sales to decline eventually and stressed the game exceeded expectations during the last quarter nevertheless. But, with this most recent earnings call allowing publisher Take-Two to formally address the GTA 6 leak; with confirmation that no material assets were taken during the leak itself; with GTA Forums now having been swept clean of said leaked files; and, most importantly, with Rockstar now in a position to properly move on from the drama of the last two months without distraction – determined, I'm sure, to go bigger than ever before – and it'd seem like GTA 6 is in the best position it possibly could be moving forward.
When will GTA 6 actually release? A 2025 release window has been rumored for some time, but, honestly, who really knows. What feels inevitable at this stage, however, is Rockstar bouncing back – be that with an official reveal or a trailer or even a low-key, frenzy-stirring social media post. Is this the start of the home stretch for GTA 6? I think it could be. I sure hope so. Watch this space.
