Say what you will about the seemingly interminable road to GTA 6, but don't tell me it hasn't been exciting. When GTA 5 landed on September 17, 2013, and its multiplayer offshoot GTA Online arrived two weeks later on October 1, I don't think anyone would have thought we'd still not have the sixth explicitly numbered Grand Theft Auto in our hands in the latter stages of 2023 – not even, I reckon, Rockstar itself.
It's been such a long road that when I woke up this morning, Wednesday, November 8, I did not expect to learn that GTA 6 could reportedly be announced "as early as this week," with a trailer next month. A few hours later – after a tidal wave of online excitement, furious speculation, heated debate and discussion, and even shared tales of a GTA 6 sleuth who thinks they've already located the official trailer, but who no one believed until now – I certainly didn't expect Rockstar to confirm the rumors by officially announcing GTA 6 with a trailer, indeed, coming next month.
Whether you've only a passing knowledge of the enduring crime simulator series, or have spent literally thousands of hours roving the bustling streets of Los Santos and the backwater burgh of Blaine County, the hype driving GTA 6 is undeniable. That's nothing new for Grand Theft Auto – a series whose '97 debut was deemed so unsavory that it was discussed in US congress and UK parliament – but the furor surrounding the developer's much-anticipated and long-awaited next outing proves that no one does it quite like Rockstar and its flagship franchise.
On the one road
Ignore the GTA 6 leak, the full Rockstar reveal will be worth the wait
The hype is justified. GTA 5 and GTA Online are among the highest-selling entertainment properties of all time. Somehow, GTA 5 is a near-permanent fixture in the likes of Steam's weekly top-sellers chart (I say somehow because who doesn't already own the game by this stage?), and the wider Grand Theft Auto series is now over 26 years old. Rockstar itself is approaching its 25th anniversary – having acquired DMA Design in December 1998 – so the idea that GTA 6 might be tied into those celebrations has been a long-held possibility shared among the community, and it's no surprise that the first official trailer is due in "early December".
While we're talking history, I'd argue that just about every open-world game today owes something to 2001's GTA 3 and its revolutionary Liberty City sandbox. With the help of late Hollywood actor Ray Liotta, 2002's GTA: Vice City and protagonist Tommy Vercetti set new standards for video game storytelling by closely aping the films and media that drive a genre; while 2004's GTA: San Andreas is still considered one of the best and most influential video games of all time.
When Microsoft's Peter Moore announced GTA 4 on stage at E3 2006, he spoke excitedly of "a fanbase that hangs on every mere mention of the next chapter", while brandishing that silly 'Grand Theft Auto IV' tattoo on his bicep. Fast forward six years, and GTA 5's reveal was a super-understated five-character tweet that simply read "#GTA5", accompanied by a link to Rockstar's website where it was confirmed that Grand Theft Auto 5 was indeed coming before promising a trailer the following week. Shortly after that, the landing page to Rockstar's website contained nothing more than the now iconic black, white, and green GTA 5 logo.
Fast forward another 10 years from there, and GTA 6's hype train really kicked into gear. In February of last year, Rockstar officially confirmed that GTA 6 was in active development – a statement that was buried in an innocuous Newswire post pertaining to the nuts and bolts of the then-incoming PS5 and Xbox Series X iterations of GTA 5.
In September 2022, Rockstar suffered its now infamous GTA 6 leak, whereby over 90 in-development screens and videos found their way onto public forums, in what was probably the most significant leak in the history of video games. But, while catastrophic for the developer, the leaks heaped even more pressure on Rockstar to go bigger than ever – and if history has taught us nothing else, it's that this studio has a talent for delivering above and beyond our expectations.
In May of this year, Rockstar's parent company, Take-Two, mentioned launching titles in "Fiscal 2025" during an earnings call, saying it believed these would "set new industry standards and enable us to achieve over $8 billion in Net Bookings". Finance-speak aside, the mere suggestion that GTA 6 could launch as early as 2025 was enough to set the internet alight once more. The most recent Take-Two earnings call – held on Tuesday, August 8, 2023 – repeated that message. Rockstar owner continues to imply GTA 6 is out by March 2025 while saying nothing about it, is how we reported it, within which we explored Take-Two's "fiscal year 2025" projection, a time period that begins in April 2024.
Early December
"And then by 1pm GMT, it was all confirmed by Sam Houser himself."
And now – take a deep breath if you need to – fast forward to today, Wednesday, November 8, 2023. At 10am GMT, we were finally on the precipice of something as per an informed report on Bloomberg. Which was exciting. So exciting, in fact, that (im)patiently waiting fans couldn't quite decide how to feel about the latest round of rumors. Years of bogus GTA 6 leaks mean fans might finally know peace as reported official reveal looms, and they're struggling to cope. I'd argue we've been struggling to cope for the best part of 25 years when it comes to these things – through stage shows, understated tweets, official acknowledgments, unprecedented leaks, crippling expectation, and more hope than an optimist's dream board.
And then by 1pm GMT, it was all confirmed by Sam Houser himself. That first, ever-elusive GTA 6 trailer is almost upon us after what feels like one of the longest, most winding and hype-fueled roads we've ever been led down. By saying nothing, fans were hyped for GTA 6. By saying everything, fans are super hyped for GTA 6.
There isn't a game dynasty quite like GTA when it comes to driving hype. And with Rockstar at the wheel, I don't think I'd have it any other way.
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