Rockstar developers in the UK are seeking official union recognition from the GTA 6 studio's bosses, who were accused of union busting in 2025 after firing 31 workers involved in union activity. If Rockstar devs are successful in their bid, they'll join Zero Parades creator ZA/UM in history as one of the first formally acknowledged games industry unions in the UK.

Independent Workers' Union of Great Britain (IWGB) Union president Alex Marshall is confident Rockstar can afford such a milestone. The organizer says in a June 30 press release, "GTA 6 has reportedly already generated more than $3 billion in preorder sales. Rockstar bosses can easily afford to sit around the table with the people whose hard work created these games, and give them a meaningful voice in their workplace."

Rockstar itself has not revealed GTA 6 pre-order revenue, and that $3 billion estimate seems to stem, at least in part, from University of Virginia assistant professor of business Anthony Palomba saying recently that Rockstar parent company "Take-Two shares rose almost 3% in early trading when preorders opened, and some analysts modeled as much as $1 billion in revenue in the first hour alone." Take-Two hasn't commented on this analysis, though the publisher is clearly expecting GTA 6 to be its golden calf – it predicts, in a recent financial report, that the game will contribute to "$8 to $8.2 billion" in sales for fiscal year 2027.

What Rockstar devs are asking for in return, says Rockstar North production co-ordinator Shanti Easton-Steel, is for executives to acknowledge "our key objectives of pay transparency, fairer crunch practices and better flexible working arrangements."

"This is a landmark moment for the Rockstar Game Workers Union, and hopefully for the industry as a whole," Easton-Steel says. "It's thanks to the hard work of so many of our members – both those currently with us and those who were fired last October – that we are now in a strong enough position to pursue formal recognition."

Rockstar and the IWGB's legal dispute over those 31 fired union members is ongoing, with the final trial set to run from September 10 to October 15, according to the workers' union.

Fired GTA 6 developer accusing Rockstar Games of union busting says playing the blockbuster will "probably just bring back too much."

There's a high chance GTA 6 will be the most absurdly detailed and densest among the best open-world games ever made when it releases on November 19. The long-awaited return to Vice City is at the centre of Rockstar Games' blockbuster, but we know we'll be getting more of the state of Leonida in the same way GTA 5 expanded its map beyond a very impressive refresh of Los Santos. Will it be shaped by DNA inherited from Red Dead Redemption 2 though?

As GTA 6 promises "more and better" of everything and to set a new bar for living and breathing sandboxes moving forward, I believe we shouldn't ignore the potential of the fictional American state of Leonida. Vice City may be the main attraction as the capital, but the thin marketing materials haven't shied away from showing us more about the natural environments and animals that inhabit the broader state itself. However, it's not enough to just have them; I hope GTA has learned from Red Dead's penchant for outdoor activities.

Lessons from the Wild West

Back in 2013, the larger San Andreas map wasn't particularly exciting. It wasn't until later updates came that more animal species and activities involving them like the GTA 5 wildlife photography challenge were added. Even then, Red Dead Redemption was where Rockstar paid more attention to nature outside crime-filled missions, and RDR2 took everything related to wildlife and its untamed areas to ridiculous levels – finding all the Red Dead Redemption 2 animal locations and completing that compendium was arguably the hardest thing in the entire game.

One of the funniest (and best if you ask me) things Rockstar did with Red Dead Redemption 2 was tricking everyone into playing what's essentially a "cowboy simulator" more often than not. Your mileage may vary, but I always felt the studio's obsession with details would lead to games with heavy simulation elements. More time and money has only enabled the developers to push things further, and while we might argue about how many details are too many details (more on that when GTA 6 releases), the truth is post-GTA 5 Rockstar has done a fine job of making its massive game worlds (including Los Santos over the years) fun to spend time in.

Not everyone was ready for the slow pace of RDR2's early hours or how meandering it can be at times, but those are signs of developers treating its world with respect and not just like a giant playground to fill with lots of content to grind through, an easy pitfall of many modern sandboxes. Though it might be argued Pearl Abyss' Crimson Desert ticks plenty of items off the Ubisoft school of design checklist, it's also managed to enchant millions with a truly dense continent full of surprises and opportunities, giving players more to do more than fighting and looting – and nature is at the centre of much of it.

As memorable as RDR2's tale of criminals in a dying West is, I strongly believe most of it wouldn't have hit as hard without the time Arthur (and John) spend indulging in everyday mundanity. It's during those sections – enforced by the game or sought by the player – that we get a glimpse of normalcy amid all the senseless violence and betrayal. Go fishing, find some wild horses to tame, complete your massive compendium of odd animals for that guy you barely know... Tens of hours can be spent engaging with places that haven't been fully invaded by man, and there's space for that experience in GTA too. Swamps and glades needn't just be different scenarios for drug runners and those the wacky hillbilly encounters no doubt awaiting us.

Finding balance

There's always the danger of Take-Two and Rockstar choosing to overcorrect based on the complaints of a loud minority, but when RDR2's success continues to impress eight years later and vast but forgettable open worlds abound, a GTA 6 that's breezier and too focused on the "criminal life" we already know well would be a mistake.

Yes, the game is about Lucia and Jason's "new life" in Vice City first and foremost, but the sandbox bar has been raised several times since GTA 5 came out, and many other studios have almost caught up.

RDR2 still feels like a unique and special beast though. Having the chance to disconnect from criminal activities and visit confirmed natural locations like the Mount Kalaga National Park is the type of thing that can elevate GTA 6. Leaning on the brand of world-building and secondary content only Rockstar (and a few others) can afford to put out on such a scale, switching to totally different genres with ease, is a rare sight. With the past having told us players appreciate getting to live digital lives at their own pace without an urgent need to clear content, I hope that kayaking and off-road hiking aren't limited to NPCs waiting to be murdered, and that birdwatching is an actual hobby I can partake in and be rewarded for. Seriously.

The older I get and the more selective I have to be with my gaming time, the more I appreciate open worlds that put their size and depth to good use. I'm always down to explore new sandboxes, but I only stick around and revisit the ones that feel truly unpredictable and alive. This means I'd rather feed alligators and go diving with sea turtles in GTA 6 than clear a hundred gang hideouts after its credits have rolled.

In this case, I'm confident in Rockstar's ability to repeat (and improve on) RDR2's balancing act. It's the only way the studio can justify all those years in development and cutting-edge visuals; Grand Theft Auto 6 must be more than just GTA: Vice City in 2026.

Here are all the latest GTA 6 activities, customization, and gameplay details revealed now that pre-orders are live!

Leave it to Rockstar. Today's reveal of the GTA 6 cover and the announcement that pre-orders will go live next week would've been news enough, but the devs have also gone and given us our best look at Vice City yet, thanks to a very brief video clip quietly added to the game's official website.

That clip offers a brief flyover of Vice City, pulling away from the downtown skyscrapers over an industrial park, harbor, and apparent apartment complexes on the other side of the bay. Most enticing about this clip are the vehicles, including an array of helicopters, planes, luxury yachts, freight boats, and more that we'll presumably be able to hijack in-game.

You can watch the clip below, or head over to the official website to pore over it in its full glory, going frame by frame with each click of your mouse wheel. I guess Rockstar knows we're all thirsty for details this far out from the last trailer, so the studio's giving us the tools we need to make the most of this one.

moving shot of Vice City in Grand Theft Auto VI

— @wario64.bsky.social (@wario64.bsky.social.bsky.social) 2026-06-18T15:02:10.076Z

This actually appears to be an opposite view of the same stretch of downtown Vice City that we previously saw in a screenshot last year – the ferris wheel makes clear that it's the same location. Players have already been piecing the GTA 6 map together for ages, and I suspect that they'll just about have central Vice City all mapped by the time pre-orders go live.

Those pre-orders will go live on June 25, as Rockstar confirmed alongside today's cover art reveal. That means we're finally going to have an answer to arguably the most burning question about GTA 6: just how much is it going to cost?

For all the new games of 2026 and beyond, you know where to click.

Everyone knows that if there's a group of people most accurately representative of the UK general public, it's the GTA Online player base. Of course, a video game series that prides itself on being distinctly, unapologetically American is precisely where, oh, I don't know, a department of the UK government would turn to for data on the behaviors of its citizenry. According to The Telegraph (paywalled), that's precisely what's been happening since late 2024, when the Department for Education (DfE) initiated a taxpayer funded program in which employees are paid to play GTA Online with random people on the internet to get into their heads.

The experiment, conducted by a small unit of the DfE called Policy Lab, involves government employees "[spending] time with participants in video games they played regularly" and "[experiencing] the world" with them by "observing their in-game interactions." One of the reported goals of the project is to learn "impactful insights about people's lived experience" while researchers play the game in a curated, "emotionally safe place."

Specifically, and this is particularly surreal, members of Policy Lab reportedly joined players in GTA Online and talked with them through missions including stealing from a jewelry shop, using a bomb to blow up the CEO of a company, and driving prostitutes to their clients in a timely fashion. Some key insights from the study found that members of the public "enjoy spending time at their nightclub business or on their yacht," and that some people find that "driving around while talking made it really easy."

Policy Lab researchers also reportedly learned that "meeting people virtually is especially useful for people in remote locations," and that some participants enjoyed doing things in GTA Online that they couldn't do in real life, like "running a successful in-game business."

The Telegraph reports that the project is the subject of intense scrutiny on both sides of the aisle from within the UK government. Policy Lab was founded under the most recent Conservative Party, but funding for the GTA project has reportedly continued under the Labour Party, which has been in power since 2024.

"Hard-working families will be in disbelief that their taxes are bankrolling this nonsense," said shadow Cabinet Office minister Mike Wood, a member of the Conservative Party. "It's important that civil servants have the right skills – but playing Grand Theft Auto isn't among them. The Government must halt this absurd waste of resources immediately. Taxpayers rightly expect value for money, and Labour must ensure they get it."

Meanwhile, an unnamed government source who's clearly a member of the Labour Party, said: "This is a decades old Tory initiative that we are now looking into."

As a self-professed ignorant American, I simply don't know what to make of this. The findings gleaned from the study as reported by The Telegraph, although potentially cherry picked to support a certain political ideology, seem to hold very little significance and aren't surprising in the least.

Again, as an American, I'm certainly no stranger to seeing my federal tax dollars being used in all sorts of seemingly senseless ways, but this one is particularly baffling because there doesn't appear to be an underlying motive. It's just the government playing video games with people to learn that people like the escapism that video games provide, which has been the case since the very beginning. If anything, you'd think they'd dig into the Dark Souls community to see what's wrong with them. (I kid.)

Here are all of the upcoming video game release dates you need to know about.

Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick is about to have a very big year with the impending launch of GTA 6 – which, depending on who you talk to, will either be the biggest video game release of all time or the biggest cultural event in all of human history. (No pressure.) For Zelnick himself, however, that surely pales in comparison to the accomplishment he's spent years preparing for: becoming a virtual WWE superstar.

Yes, Zelnick was quietly added to the WWE 2K26 roster in a free update earlier today. You won't find him mentioned in the official patch notes, but players soon saw him there in the character select screen, faintly smiling with his 77 character rating. That kind of score won't win him many matches, but apparently the crowd treats him as a babyface, flying in the face of the relationship most gamers have with the executives running AAA publishers these days.

They even licensed My Way – the Frank Sinatra song, not the Limp Bizkit track that was famously used in promotion of Wrestlemania 17 – for Zelnick's entrance. They recorded unique lines from Wade Barrett and Michael Cole, complete with terrible puns, on commentary. The only thing the devs didn't do is give Zelnick proper ring attire, instead opting to have him come to the ring in a suit.

Please don't think that I spend my days thirsting over gaming CEOs – Zelnick's presided over his fair share of layoffs, after all – but I learned a piece of trivia about the Take-Two boss years ago that has stuck with me ever since: he's really buff. You wouldn't know it from his occasional interview appearances, where he's typically covered up in a light sweater, but beneath that business casual wrapping lies the rippling muscles of someone who takes exercise very seriously. That "The Program" branding you see around his in-game entrance is a reference to his fitness group.

Zelnick revealed his 8% body fat physique to the world back in 2018, when the then-60-year-old CEO was promoting a fitness book he'd co-written. He said at the time that the photo wasn't intended as a thirst trap, but instead insisted that "the shirtless picture is an athletic picture and is intended as such."

Which is fair enough, but it's still so bizarre to see a video game executive in this kind of shape that I still think about it every time Zelnick's name comes up, something that's increasingly common here in the leadup to GTA 6. A colleague and I collaborated on this ill-advised tweet for a former employer when Zelnick's physique was first revealed to us, and I still can't let it go. I guess turning him into a pro wrestler is just bringing the whole thing full circle.

GTA 6 finally releasing won't lead to a Rockstar staff exodus, Take-Two boss expects: "We have a lot of work to do after the launch."

If you're wondering how Rockstar's managed to financially justify holding back GTA 6 through all these delays, you don't have to look much further than GTA 5. Rockstar's last Grand Theft Auto title is continuing to sell by the millions even now, over a decade later, and a new estimate puts a more particular point on just how much GTA 5 continues to sell.

GTA 5 sold 387,000 copies on PlayStation last month, contributing to a total of 1.8 million units sold on PS5 for 2026, according to Alinea's latest estimates.

That number tracks with the official estimates we get from publisher Take-Two's financial reports, where the company regularly reports about 5 million more units sold every quarter. When you account for the additional sales on PS4, PC, and both generations of Xbox, it's easy to see how that 1.8 million estimate factors in.

Alinea's May estimate runs down the full top five on PS5 for May, with 007 First Light (1 million units sold), Minecraft (788,000), Lego Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight (757,000), and EA Sports FC 26 (411,000) filling up the spots ahead of GTA 5 on the platform.

It's a remarkable reminder of GTA 5's staying power, especially when you consider how much money GTA Online is making on top of all these unit sales. We rarely get specific numbers on microtransaction revenues, but leaks have suggested that GTA Online is pulling in something in the neighborhood of $8.4 million per week.

Take-Two boss Strauss Zelnick has repeatedly emphasized that Rockstar's looking to "deliver perfection" with GTA 6, but it's rare for any studio to be afforded the time it takes to get anywhere near that standard. GTA 5's uncommon success has given Rockstar an extended runway, and we're now just a few months away from finally seeing what takes off from it.

Here's hoping we have another heavy hitter in the ranks of the best Rockstar games soon.

With Summer Game Fest 2026 set to kick off in just a few days, the question on everyone's lips is whether Grand Theft Auto 6 will make an appearance. It's been a year since GTA 6's second trailer dropped, and since then we've seen nothing of the game – which would have been out already, had it not been delayed to November 19. Not that I'm bitter.

Predicting Rockstar's next move has proven impossible over the years, with attempts resulting in moon cults and hopium-huffing. But with months left until launch, the developer will soon look to ramp up the sales pitch in full – meaning it will have to show what it's selling. With this year's Summer Game Fest 2026 schedule packing presentations from Xbox and PlayStation alongside the main showcase, could Rockstar enter the home stretch this week?

Back to Leonida

While Zelnick suggests we won't have long to wait for more GTA 6 news regardless, whether it will arrive at SGF 2026 remains to be seen (or denied). I'm of the opinion that Rockstar should take the initiative and go big, but the developer's crunch crackdown could motivate it to continue playing coy. Keeping milestones internal means there's less pressure to hit them, and if the release date does need to move back to avoid crunch, it should. There are also arguments to be made in keeping GTA 6's exposure to a minimum and letting the game speak for itself at launch – the greatest mark of confidence, yes, but not one I imagine Rockstar's marketing teams would be as happy with.

Frankly, trying to predict what Rockstar will do – or pinning your hopes to a certain course of action – only guarantees disappointment. However this week pans out, Zelnick seems pretty confident we'll be playing GTA 6 for ourselves come November 19 - so what's a quiet SGF amongst friends?

Was Fable really delayed because of GTA 6, or is the RPG just not finished yet?

It's tough to compete with one of the most beloved, influential first-person shooters of all time, but if there's one game that can go toe-to-toe with the original Halo, it's a faithful but spruced-up remake like Halo: Campaign Evolved. That said, according to a veteran of Halo creator Bungie, that sprucing up is precisely what makes the remake inferior to the original.

During an appearance on the Mint Blitz podcast, former Bungie design lead Niles Sankey, who was with the company from 2006 to 2015, shared his impressions of the upcoming Halo remake. Obviously, Sankey has no insight into the production itself, but he's seen the same gameplay footage we all have, and while he's impressed by the visual fidelity, he worries Halo Studios isn't seeing the snowcapped mountains for the trees, prioritizing detail over map readability.

Sankey admits the environments in Halo: Campaign Evolved "look good," but he says he's "just not the biggest fan of modern, AAA, fancy, Unreal graphics" because that level of detail can impair visibility. Some games, like Arc Raiders specifically, are visually "amazing," says Sankey, but in general he prefers landscapes where you can actually see what's going on.

"I do question the readability of some of the battlefield," says Sankey. "I think that one thing that Halo, and Halo 1 especially did a great job of, is, you could read the battlefield. You can clearly see the enemies. You can clearly see your lanes. The constraints actually make it a stronger game in my opinion, cause you don't have all this foliage everywhere.

"It's a game, first and foremost. You need to see where your enemies are. You need to see where your lanes and routes are, and that's what's most fun ... I get the sense that sometimes companies overlook that and instead are just trying to make the best graphics possible without considering the ramifications of what those fancy graphics might mean."

I don't know if it's just my aging, blurry vision talking, but I totally get what Sankey's saying here. I'm sure there's a method to creating modern, high-fidelity games without sacrificing readability, and Sankey says he hopes the "smart people" at Halo Studios will accomplish that in the final product, but I can think of a handful of extremely popular multiplayer games which I've tried playing but found challenging due to there being too much happening, and in too much detail, on screen. As for Halo: Campaign Evolved specifically, I do think enemies blend into environments at least more-so than in the original, and we'll just have to wait and see how readable the maps are at launch.

As Halo and Forza Horizon 6 prepare to jump ship to PS5, Xbox fans use new community voting tool to tell Microsoft they want their exclusives back

Take-Two boss Strauss Zelnick says the company's 2025 missteps with Borderlands 4 and Civilization 7 aren't a big problem in the grand scheme, and that publisher 2K is still "crushing it."

While Take-Two is in for a good year in 2026 – mainly because GTA 6 is going to make billions even if it's somehow bad – it's easy to overlook that 2025 wasn't exactly the best year in its history. Borderlands 4 released to somewhat lukewarm reception (despite solid reviews) but the game's PC port was the star of the show when it comes to that game's issues, with it only being rivalled by Monster Hunter Wilds as 2025's biggest PC debacle. And on top of that, Sid Meier's Civilization 7 reworked the series formula massively, so much so that the devs have released an update to rework it after fan feedback.

While Zelnick has previously taken "responsibility" for Civilization 7's failings, in an interview with the Game Business, Zelnick says, "I definitely can acknowledge missteps with both releases, but at the same time, these are great franchises, these are great iterations, and we couldn't be more thrilled of how the business is going broadly.

"I think 2K is crushing it across the board," he continues, adding: "If the worst you can say in a year when you've had this kind of [financial] performance is that a couple of titles did slightly less well than you would have hoped, and you're addressing whatever challenges you face and you're still generating profits with both titles… that's a high-class problem. I'll take those problems any day of the week."

He notes that "Borderlands 4 was highly successful. It will be a very profitable lifetime title. [Civilization] 7 was very successful and it will be a very profitable lifetime title," and adds that their respective challenges "are being addressed." Of course, it feels like with every single Civilization game, the new one is disliked until expansions and updates fill it out to become a favorite – at least, that's what happened with Civilization 5 and 6 – so hopefully Civ 7 will become a great game in the future.

GTA 6 finally releasing won't lead to a Rockstar staff exodus, Take-Two boss expects: "We have a lot of work to do after the launch."

As we continue to get closer to GTA 6, Rockstar and Take-Two have taken another step in reducing how many multiplayer servers players have access to. Another's been taken down by the company, with the sunsetting process already underway.

The devs behind Rage:MP, a platform offering one of the bigger multiplayer options for GTA 5, have announced that Rockstar's parent served them a cease and desist. "Rockstar Games and Take-Two Interactive have made it clear that FiveM is the only authorized platform for GTAV multiplayer modding, as defined in their Platform License Agreement (PLA)," the statement reads.

"In accordance with that policy, and at Take-Two's request, Rage:MP will begin a structured shutdown process," the team adds. "We are asking all server owners to wind down their operations and migrate to FiveM."

This first deadline for this process is June 1, when the publicly available list of servers is getting removed. It's advised that all server owners log in before then to make sure they retain the same level of access on FiveM once this change occurs.

Then the next deadline is August 31, wherein the lights go off on Rage:MP. Any servers not moved over to FiveM will go down as the platform disappears into digital nothingness.

If you're unaware of FiveM, it's a similar toolkit for setting up custom multiplayer within GTA Online, and it was bought by Rockstar in 2023. At risk of stating the obvious, the studio's parent Take-Two really seems to be closing ranks on unofficial outlets ahead of the sixth mainline game's arrival, as other, similar sites have gotten this same treatment.

It's a real shame, because some servers and players will inevitably choose not to move for one reason or another. Their work and that sliver of the GTA 5 experience will be gone forever, in the name of brand control. Pour one out for them, and if you're on a server on Rage:MP, make sure to get more sessions in while you can.

GTA 6 release was supposed to be today, and fans are riding the hopium for any "brief update" from Rockstar: "Let's just pray there's no more delays"

Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick is calling out technology conglomerates for purportedly lying about the real reasons behind mass downsizings in recent years.

In an interview with Games Industry, Zelnick tackles the issue of AI in game development, striking a familiar optimistic tone while drawing a hard line between AI-generated games and the use of AI to increase efficiency. "For those who believe you'll press a button and make a competitive game, good luck. Technology doesn't do that. Technology doesn't create. Technology enables human beings to create," he says.

For context, Zelnick says he prefers the word technology over AI "because technology encompasses AI, and using the word AI means different things to different people."

Amid global concerns of AI displacing jobs, Zelnick strikes a decidedly more optimistic tone, straight up declaring, "Technology is not going to take people's jobs," seemingly referring to AI. Now, you could point to several major players in tech who've explicitly (or otherwise) stated layoffs were the result of AI, but Zelnick says those companies aren't being truthful. Instead, Zelnick attributes those layoffs to the post-Covid correction in which companies rapidly hired to meet pandemic-fueled demand and then downsized when the industry self-corrected in the aftermath of the pandemic.

"The big tech companies who laid off thousands of people and said it was because of AI were not telling the truth," he says. "It was because they overhired in the pandemic and they were sloppy about it and they haven't addressed their headcount issues."

Specifically, Zelnick says the market is "completely incorrect" in its apparent prediction that "all SaaS companies will go out of business because of AI."

"And if the market weren't incorrect now and then, how could you invest in it? You'd never have an opportunity," Zelnick says.

GTA 6 isn't getting delayed again, Take-Two confirms, but those Best Buy pre-order rumors are bunk, marketing to ramp up this summer

GTA 6 has been delayed a couple of times already, which naturally softens the concreteness of its current release date, but publisher Take-Two Interactive has reaffirmed that the massively anticipated game is still due out on November 19 as previously revealed. That said, recent rumors that Best Buy would soon open pre-orders are reportedly false, as Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick has suggested marketing for the game will begin in earnest this summer.

The latest bit of bunk churned from the rumor mill claimed GTA 6 pre-orders were going live this week at US-based retailer Best Buy, with reports citing leaked affiliate emails confirming pre-order dates between May 18 and May 21. Obviously, with today being May 21, that turned out to be untrue, but Zelnick tells Bloomberg's Jason Schreier he has no idea where the rumor even came from and suggests we're still several weeks away from pre-orders.

In Take-Two's latest presentation to shareholders, the company re-confirms GTA 6's November release date several times, with one section of the report reading: "We project Net Bookings to range from $8 to $8.2 billion, which represents 20% growth over Fiscal 2026 at the midpoint, primarily driven by the launch of Grand Theft Auto VI on November 19th, along with successful execution across our entire portfolio."

Take-Two earnings: Grand Theft Auto VI is still planned for November 19. No delay. In an interview with Bloomberg today, CEO Strauss Zelnick said he didn't know where this week's Best Buy rumors came from and that pre-orders typically start alongside marketing (which will begin this summer).

— @jasonschreier.bsky.social (@jasonschreier.bsky.social.bsky.social) 2026-05-21T22:49:02.668Z

In a new Variety interview, Zelnick says to expect GTA 6 marketing to really kick off in "the summertime," saying, "the next few weeks I don’t think it’ll be summertime yet, but when it’s summertime, Rockstar expects to start marketing GTA 6."

Zelnick is famously tight-lipped and media-trained not to reveal anything about a game under the Take-Two umbrella that might disrupt the company's carefully constructed marketing plan, so while these might not seem like major updates, they're significant enough in that context. That said, news coming out of the postponed earnings call was relatively light, which puts to bed previous speculation that the delay indicated something big was coming ahead of the call.

Only time will tell if GTA 6 joins the ranks of the best Rockstar games ever.

Like a lot of lost souls, I was convinced GTA 6 pre-orders would go live today, as suggested by a rogue Best Buy email last week notifying affiliates that game pre-orders would begin May 18. But the day has arrived, and as fans are getting uncomfortably used to, our chance of a GTA 6 update is looking thin.

Those Best Buy emails reportedly told affiliates the store was running a pre-order campaign through May 21, and they could earn 5% on online sales of GTA 6's physical edition pre-order. Sounds allegedly promising, right? People started guzzling hopium like it was the first cold glass of water they ever tasted, but an apparent industry insider says GTA 6 fans should put down the cup.

Instead, pull the lawn chair out and start waiting. Again. GTAForums member Graczdari_91 says in a thread about the supposed Best Buy leak, "I don't want to disappoint anyone, but internal company emails suggest that Best Buy has got it wrong and no pre-orders will be launching today. Things might change at the last minute, but I'd advise keeping your expectations in check."

GTA 6 fans are so vulnerable right now – Rockstar didn't receive any divine inspiration to be gregarious and drop Trailer 3 last week like they expected – so this single message was enough to obliterate pre-order hopes like pesticide. Looking at the way people are speaking in a popular Reddit thread discussing the forum post, you'd think Rockstar announced plans to initiate the Rapture. But no one died – just GTA 6 fans' remaining shreds of sanity.

"Today is gonna be a funeral," agrees one reply.

"One ticket to Arkham asylum please," another fan politely requests. GTA 6 hopefuls are also noting parent company Take-Two's stock prices started blasting off after the Best Buy email went out, going from a low of $222.80 on May 13 to a peak of $245.86 on May 15… and now that share price is steadily slipping the more GTA 6 pre-orders stall.

"MY TTWO SHARES," cries another Reddit commenter who I'm sure has already suffered enough.

A GTAForums admin claims they've seen the internal communication from Graczdari_91, who apparently works for a European distribution company, and it's true that "BestBuy made a mistake." We'll know for sure eventually, as time in the day keeps ticking, and GTA 6 fan tears begin to resupply the ocean.

GTA 6 hype hits all-time high as fans find more evidence pre-orders start today, but some have been burned too many times to believe it: "Better to be safe than sorry with Rockstar."

When it comes to video games of any size, a sad indictment of the industry is that it's more surprising to hear that crunch didn't happen. As we inch closer to GTA 6's expected release window of November this year, it seems likely that the devs at Rockstar are putting in hard work to get the crime sandbox ready to ship, but the game's delays have been part of making sure that crunch doesn't happen.

Or at least, that's what Strauss Zelnick, the CEO of Rockstar parent company Take-Two Interactive, tells Business Insider. According to him, it's not part of the company's remit, and he likens doing so to cramming before a college exam or burning the midnight oil to meet a deadline. "It's sort of like when I was in college," he tells the outlet.

"I never pulled an all-nighter because I was good about doing my homework. You do your homework, you don't pull an all-nighter," he states. We had very, very different experiences when it comes to higher education, but that's beside the point.

It's nice to hear an executive take such a stance against overworking, and that delays are the preferred solution. Games exist because of people working on them, and those staff deserve respect and dignity all through the process.

Unfortunately there have been reports in the past of Rockstar being a tough environment to work in. Bully was something of a nightmare, and according to reports, shipping Red Dead Redemption 2 wasn't far off toiling in the old west. An anonymous Glassdoor review from a QA analyst on the upcoming Grand Theft Auto sequel also alleges harsh conditions within the studio at present.

Beyond crunch, there's an ongoing labor dispute between Rockstar and several former employees who claim they were let go as a form of union-bashing. Demonstrations have been taking place outside the Red Dead and GTA studio's main office in Edinburgh.

All of which is to say, Zelnick may believe Take-Two has higher standards, but certain actual on-the-ground experiences at Rockstar tell a different story. Should GTA 6 actually come out in November this year, hopefully it's without an exorbitant amount of overtime.

It's been exactly 1 year since GTA 6 Trailer 2, and fans are being as normal about that as you'd expect: "Trailer 3 is definitely around the corner."

Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick tells reporter Stephen Totilo in a new edition of his Game File newsletter that he's never shocked when studios like Rockstar inevitably delay GTA 6 to the moment of Christ's resurrection. Though, he wasn't fond of BioShock developers stalling on the next title in the creepy shooter series.

Zelnick explains to Totilo, "I tend to default to being very calm," since "I have no trouble distinguishing between, like, a business challenge and an emergency." So, even though the next BioShock game has been in development for nearly 10 miserable years, Zelnick repeats he was "never" surprised by how the team handled the dystopian franchise. He did, however, feel "deeply disappointed."

The last time Take-Two subsidiary 2K published a BioShock game, people were wearing infinity scarves while doing the Harlem Shake – it was 2013. 2K Games eventually announced follow-up BioShock 4 in 2019, but years kept passing, and BioShock 4 started to feel as real as a ghost, which may or may not exist.

"I think we, in retrospect, wasted a lot of time and money chasing down some creative alleys that turned out to be dead ends," Zelnick says. He summarizes this approach as the "nature of entertainment," adding that, "with big team activities, you can't necessarily tell how it's going to be until it all comes together, or begins to come together, and that can take a while and can be very costly."

Having experienced this many times in his 40-year career as an executive, Zelnick says, "I don't run the business" in a way that lends itself to surprise – "That's like, one day, everything's awesome, and the next day, I'm like, 'Holy shit.'"

He says he's more pragmatic than that. 2K ultimately hit BioShock 4 developer Cloud Chamber hard with layoffs in 2025 and brought in former Diablo boss Rod Fergusson to lead the project, taking over for fired studio head Kelley Gilmore, a Firaxis veteran.

With more than 80 positions now evaporated, "I'm feeling a lot better," Zelnick says. However, BioShock 4 still doesn't have anything close to a release date.

Netflix and Take-Two are "very anxious" for the BioShock movie to coincide with the release of "potential new incarnations of the game."

Right now, Civ 6 and Civ 5 each have more players in-game on Steam than Civilization 7 – and it's not particularly close. The latest entry in the venerable 4X strategy series has failed to connect with fans the same way as its predecessors, and Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick says you can blame him for the game's failures.

"Every time there's a new Civ," Zelnick says in an interview for the latest Game File newsletter, "the team at Firaxis thinks about: 'How do we push the envelope far enough that it makes sense to buy this new game? And how do we preserve what people love enough so that they’re not disaffected?' And we got it wrong with Civ VII, but it wasn’t for want of trying. And again, I take responsibility for it."

One of the biggest controversies around Civ 7 was the fact that, in contrast to previous games, it forced you to swap between civilizations with every age transition. Zelnick's comments come just as the devs are detailing a major update that brings back the old ways, and addresses some of the other biggest points of player feedback.

"We've made a bunch of fixes," Zelnick continues. "We'll continue to make fixes. The game is a really good game. And it's certainly a profitable enterprise for us. But this is one where I think what we tried to do was a bridge too far, from the consumer's perspective."

Not everybody hated the game, of course. In our own Civilization 7 review, Andy found it a strong evolution of the series – though not a perfect one – in his four-star review. The game has clearly fared worse among everyday players, given the 47% positive Steam user reviews. The devs at Firaxis are promising an "expansion-level" improvement for that impending update, so here's hoping they can deliver on that grandiose ambition.

Here are the best strategy games you can play today.

Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick says the company is trying to give Rockstar everything it needs to make GTA 6 as good as it possibly can be.

"I think here our goal is to deliver to consumers something that's never been experienced before," Zelnick says, speaking to Bloomberg. He explains, "Being on the sidelines but pretty close to the front of the sidelines is very, very exciting. And terrifying. Because the expectations are so high." This is a fear he has previously shared, when he said that the impending release of GTA 6 has him a "billion" times more "scared" than any other game release.

Zelnick continues: "Development costs have gone up and up. And we really do aim to deliver the highest quality entertainment on Earth. And that is costly." With the increased cost of game development, it's safe to assume that the budget is huge for GTA 6, even without considering marketing spend, which in turn leaves a bigger risk in the unlikely chance that it fails to sell well. However, Zelnick adds, "That's a high-stakes game for big boys only, and I'm cool with it."

"We have the most amazing creative teams. We not only encourage them to pursue their passions, we insist that they do it. We try to give them unlimited financial, creative human resources and then they aim to deliver perfection," he adds. And, while it'd be a shock if GTA 6 doesn't sell a wild amount of copies, Zelnick says that Take-Two will "never claim success before it occurs."

The unfortunate truth is that unless you are GTA 6 – which, after a 13-year wait has become a highly sought-after game for fans of the series – the unlimited time, money, and resources plan isn't exactly feasible for most. GTA 6 will inevitably sell millions out the gate, and assuming that it gets its own version of GTA Online, Rockstar is bound to make disgusting amounts of cash from microtransactions, so it does make sense for Take-Two to give the devs what they need.

GTA 6 is largely British-made, but UK politicians likely won't brag about it like France did for Clair Obscur Expedition 33, minister says: "If we were the US, we'd be puffing out our chests."

As has become tradition with Rockstar's games, GTA 6 will only be available on consoles at launch, with no PC version on the immediate horizon. Strauss Zelnick, CEO of Rockstar parent company Take-Two, says that's because the devs want to focus on their core audience, and it has nothing to do with any marketing deal from Sony.

Jason Schreier of Bloomberg posed the question of whether a reported marketing deal with Sony was behind the decision to have GTA 6 skip PC at launch. "No," Zelnick says. "I mean, historically Rockstar's gone to console first."

Rumors of a PlayStation marketing deal for GTA 6 go back years, and that kind of partnership makes sense. The launch of GTA 6 is expected to convince a whole lot of last-gen holdouts to upgrade to current console hardware, and it's easy to see why Sony would want to associate the launch with PS5.

The idea of Sony making a deal to keep GTA 6 off of PC, however? That I don't get. GTA 6 is also coming to Xbox Series X/S, and for all its troubles Microsoft's console is still Sony's closest competitor in the market. Why pay away a PC version when the Xbox edition is still looming?

Either way, Zelnick says there's a much simpler reason for GTA 6 to skip PC. "Rockstar always starts on console because I think with regard to a release like that you're judged by serving the core," he says. "Like really serving the core consumer. If your core consumer isn't there, if they're not served first and best, you kind of don't hit your other consumers."

That explanation is likely to ring pretty in the ears of PC players, since the vast majority of third-party publishers – including Take-Two itself – manage to launch simultaneously across PC and console without any apparent disservice to the "core consumer."

As Zelnick himself notes, PC is a major part of the business these days. When NBA 2K started doing PC editions in the late '00s, he says those versions might make up around 5% of sales. "Now with regard to a big title, PC can be 45, 50% of the sales," he adds. I guess Take-Two is counting on the GTA 6 hype staying hot enough to get that half of the sales another year or two down the line.

GTA 6 PC release remains unconfirmed, but Rockstar leak reveals that could be because GTA Online gets 97% of its cash from consoles.

An odd Twitter post from Gearbox CEO Randy Pitchford has once again spiraled out of control and prompted messaging on the company's policies, with generative AI at the center of the latest grease fire.

On May 3, Pitchford posted a ChatGPT-generated image depicting, per a May 4 clarification, "a picture of yourself as if you worked at my company, Gearbox Software." That is the prompt Pitchford gave the AI tool.

"My friends I was with for lunch earlier produced some funny things with similar prompts for themselves and I wanted to see what bullshit it would generate as an idea of a self identity because the idea of an AI even having an identity is nonsense," Pitchford says.

With that prompt, ChatGPT spit out an image of a middle-aged man with a salt-and-pepper beard sitting in a dark-lit room with an oddly strict black-and-wood motif. In the background rests a whiteboard scrawled with words like "Borderlands 4," "players first," and, quite ironically, "creative autonomy."

That whiteboard also notably mentions "new IP," fueling speculation that Pitchford's ChatGPT history may have bled into this output. He says, "ChatGPT has no information from me about anything from my work."

Pitchford using AI at all, even just to make and share something he calls "embarrassingly hilarious," triggered alarm bells among Borderlands fans, especially on the heels of Borderlands 4 patch notes which some players thought veered close to AI-generated text in style and grammar. Several large game studios have publicly and privately experimented with AI in a variety of disciplines, especially for QA and adjacent roles.

As a result, Gearbox is now the latest major game studio to proactively head off gen-AI accusations.

"I don’t use AI for work and our policy is no AI in any work that could ever be seen by any customer," Pitchford continues. "I’m using my personal phone and not my work computer (which is isolated from personal systems). It got whatever it generated from whatever public knowledge of Gearbox it has access to (hence my very clear disclaimer) and the timing or content of this has exactly zero to do with whatever feelings you’ve spun yourself up about with patch notes."

As a major studio under Take-Two, which also owns GTA 6 maker Rockstar Games, Gearbox's stance on gen AI use is under more scrutiny than some others. Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick has called gen AI "the future of technology," but also dismissed claims it will "reduce employment" or "create hits."

Just this March, Zelnick laughed off claims that AI could or will one day generate something on the scale or complexity of GTA 6.

Pitchford himself, meanwhile, was described by Zelnick last year as "one of the all-time great game makers," though his "big personality" can cause flare-ups much like this.

Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 studio insists AI used in "early stages of production" only, dodges questions about translator allegedly replaced by AI but says "we do not see AI as a substitute for human work."

Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick has admitted he's feeling the pressure when it comes to the release of GTA 6 later this year.

Speaking at the Interactive Innovation Conference (via Variety) Zelnick admits "I run so scared with regard to all of our releases," but when it comes to the launch of GTA 6, you can "just multiply it by a billion this time around."

Zelnick, however, says that he should be scared, adding: "I think the minute you stop running scared, you better get a different job if you're in the entertainment business. Because [if] you claim success before you have it – you will largely be wrong."

Elsewhere in the conversation, Zelnick says: "We're blessed that we have some of the greatest creative talent on earth working inside the four walls of Take-Two and all of our affiliates." He notes that "the way you create hits is to find the most talented people, encourage them to work within your system and then give them unlimited resources – financial, creative, technical and human – to pursue their passion," which certainly tracks given how long GTA 6 has seemingly been in development.

Granted, it's an understandable fear since it's probably not a stretch to say GTA 6 is the single most-anticipated game ever made. And I can tell you with no uncertainty now that there are going to be a number of people who will be let down when it eventually releases, no matter how good it turns out, because it's going to be nigh impossible for almost anything to live up to 13 years of hype. But as far as Zelnick is concerned, it's going to sell millions of copies and make a ton of money, so he's probably not got too much to worry about.

The GTA 6 price remains in the air, but Take-Two's CEO assures "our job is to charge way way way less of the value" as fans worry about a $100 fee.

Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick says there will be a lot of people calling in sick on November 19, 2026, which is definitely good news for anyone fearing another GTA 6 delay.

Speaking at the Interactive Innovation Conference, where Zelnick spoke about the approach to pricing GTA 6 and that Rockstar will spin up marketing "soon," he said, "What we think about is making the most spectacular piece of entertainment on Earth, in history – and it’s a pretty daunting challenge. If we do that, and if we’re of service to our customers, then the upside will take care of itself." And that he expects "a lot of people will be calling in sick on November 19" (thanks, IGN).

While it's just a bit of a jokey comment, it does show that – as far as Take-Two is concerned – GTA 6 will be releasing on November 19, 2026. Obviously, with Rockstar, there are always delays, and there's a fear that the developer will further delay GTA 6 once more.

And of course, he's right about the calling-in-sick prediction: massive game releases have had this for decades at this point – most notably, Dragon Quest games release on Saturdays in Japan to avoid kids skipping school (with an urban legend alleging this was by law). And given that GTA 6 is probably the single-most anticipated game of all time, there's bound to be a ton of people ready to take holidays, and the ones that couldn't get them are ready to call in sick.

Unfortunately, by writing this, I've now got concrete evidence against me if I decide to call in sick when GTA 6 comes out, so please think of me when you're creating your best fake-sore-throat voice before calling work.

GTA 6 is largely British-made, but UK politicians likely won't brag about it like France did for Clair Obscur Expedition 33, minister says: "If we were the US, we'd be puffing out our chests."

Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick has spoken about the price of GTA 6, and despite not confirming anything, seems to shut down the idea that it'll launch at a higher price than normal.

Speaking at the Interactive Innovation Conference, Zelnick commented, "Consumers pay for the value that you bring to them, and our job is to charge way, way, way less of the value delivery," adding that "How you feel about something you buy is the intersection of the thing itself and what you pay for." Zelnick says that "Consumers need to feel like the thing itself is amazing and the price they were charged was fair for what they got" (thanks, IGN).

Zelnick also notes that despite major inflation on literally every single part of our lives in recent years, game pricing has remained mostly static, saying, "If you look at it through that lens, that doesn’t make a whole lot of sense. But that isn’t the lens through which we look. Instead, we look at… how do we deliver something amazing, and how do we make sure that what people pay for it feels very reasonable."

For whatever reason, many just assumed that Rockstar's next game would use its status as perhaps the most anticipated game of all time to avoid the regular video game price point, with some worried that GTA 6 would cost as much as $100. I don't see $100 happening, but in a post-Mario Kart World, uh, world, I can definitely see Rockstar being the next developer to go with the $80 price point.

Granted, I don't think Rockstar needs to charge more than normal. GTA 6 will sell millions at a $70 price point, and sure, it probably would still sell nearly as much at $80, but with the much-assumed addition of GTA Online and the money Rockstar is bound to make off microtransactions, any potential loss there will undoubtedly be offset.

Plus, this is the same company that owns 2K, just look at WWE 2K26, which offered a full week of early access for those willing to pay extra for the game, I could easily see Rockstar charging a standard $70 price point for it but charging $100 with early access and some extra useless cosmetic tat, taking advantage of FOMO would undoubtedly end up with more $100 sales than if the game launched at that price as standard.

GTA 6 is largely British-made, but UK politicians likely won't brag about it like France did for Clair Obscur Expedition 33, minister says: "If we were the US, we'd be puffing out our chests."

Take-Two Interactive, parent company to GTA 6 dev Rockstar Games as well as companies like Borderlands maker Gearbox, announced today that its fourth quarter financial results will be released on Thursday, May 21. This represents a one-week delay compared to the company's usual fiscal calendar, raising eyebrows among GTA 6 fans who speculate that movement around the most-anticipated game of all time may have affected the company's plans.

There's nothing out of the ordinary about Take-Two's announcement post itself, but the timing is a bit curious. For years, Take-Two has announced fourth quarter earnings between April 17 - 19, and reported them between May 15 - 17. Announcements and reports have also long arrived on Thursdays, barring the Wednesdays of 2023.

This year's April 23 announcement and May 21 call are outliers, albeit small ones. It's not uncommon for companies to shift fiscal milestones a smidge, though it is somewhat less common for them to do so in complete silence. I've listened to many a games industry financial call, and delays are often preceded by a heads-up or followed by an explanation of some kind.

There could be any number of reasons for the delay, of course. The sheer size of the GTA audience and the extended delays around GTA 6 have cultivated a hyper-fixated culture keen to latch onto any sign of movement, read it like tea leaves, and interpret it as a sign of things to come. That's very much what's happening here, but at least the sickos have a grain of evidence this time.

A not-guaranteed, but not-unreasonable theory is that something GTA 6-related will arrive sometime before May 21, and perhaps after or very close to May 14, which would've been the expected timing for these quarterly results.

I've seen some fans wrongly theorize that this is somehow the last opportunity to announce yet another GTA 6 delay. It's not; Rockstar can do what it wants, when it wants. A delay could happen virtually anytime between now and November, however confident Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick says he is (again).

More reasonable is the theory that the long-awaited GTA 6 Trailer 3 could arrive in the coming weeks.

Trailer 2 was released on May 6, 2025, four days after Take-Two made a conspicuous point of reiterating "expectations" to achieve record net bookings in FY2026 and 2027, and just nine days before its 2025 fourth quarter report.

A similar timeline for this year was, of course, perfectly possible even before we learned of this delayed financial call, but as tea leaves go, this one's not disproving it anyway. Take-Two is keenly aware of how GTA 6 will impact its fortunes, and it's very clearly willing to give it special treatment. I don't understand the people hallucinating exact, arbitrary days like May 19, but I can appreciate a bit of informed speculation here and there.

Take-Two CEO says if AI replaces anyone, it should be Elon Musk after his claim GTA 6 could come from gen-AI before Rockstar: "The richest guy on Earth, wouldn't that be job number one for AI to take?"

A UK politician says you probably shouldn't expect the government to be hyping up the release of GTA 6 the way France did for Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, even if it should be doing more.

Speaking to Ian Murray – current Minister of State for Creative Industries, Media and Arts as well as the MP for Edinburgh South – on The Game Business, host Chris Dring mentions the French government championing Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 after it became a breakout hit in 2025. He notes that we don't really see the UK championing its successes in the games industry in the same way – given that Rockstar with GTA, Red Dead Redemption, Playground Games with Forza Horizon, and Rocksteady with the Batman Arkham series all hail from the UK – asking if it's something Murray thinks the government should be doing more for.

"100%. And this is something we're trying very hard to do," Murray explains, pointing out that in terms of cultural impact, the UK has worldwide influence – citing that you'll see football strips from Premier League teams all over the world. "If we were the US, we'd be puffing out our chests, putting up the flags and marching up and down the main street, championing what we do," Murray adds, "We just have traditionally not done that from a cultural perspective."

He explains, "I suppose part of the reason that we have our industrial strategy and the creative industries being a key part of one of those eight sectors is to say, you know, the government's backing the sectors, let's go and puff our chests out and try and be a little bit more bombastic about how good we are at this stuff and sell ourselves a bit better." Both Murray and Dring say it's more of a British trait to undersell or be a bit self-deprecating when it comes to successes.

Of course, when you're the government, the optics of hyping up a game is very different when it's something more artistic and tame like Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 vs. a series that has been a controversy magnet since it was first introduced. Plus, in this recent era where Rockstar seemingly has all of its studios on one project – see Red Dead Redemption 2 – GTA 6 is probably also an American, Indian, Australian, and Canadian game too.

GTA 6 PC release remains unconfirmed, but Rockstar leak reveals that could be because GTA Online gets 97% of its cash from consoles.

GTA 6 publisher Take-Two's CEO Strauss Zelnick isn't intimidated by generative AI, and he's not afraid of it, either.

He tells Christopher Dring during a new episode of his The Game Business podcast that AI isn't the great, creative equalizer that some people purport, and others fear – "not even the littlest bit." In fact, "The notion that somehow new tools would allow an individual to push a button and generate a hit, and market a hit, and bring it to many millions of consumers around the world… It's a laughable notion."

Zelnick continues, "Certainly, there are other entertainment businesses that are technically less robust than interactive entertainment. For example, music. And, right now, there are programs that allow you to put in a prompt and get a professionally [...] recorded song spit back out at you." But while whatever you generate may indeed sound "like a song," Zelnick says, "I defy you to listen to it more than once."

So don't expect ChatGPT to burp up the GTA 6 killer anytime soon. Zelnick maintains the technology isn't capable of such a thing – and he doesn't think AI can commit any real evil, either. He says, "I don't believe machines have the ability to be good or evil. And anyone who knows anything about digital machinery at the end of the day realizes that."

All that will come from generative AI's widespread use, according to Zelnick, is "an enormous impact across all industries in terms of making mundane office work essentially more efficient or unnecessary." Oh, and don't forget to mention the thousands of layoffs, too.

Xbox just revealed Gaming Copilot is coming to "current-generation consoles" later this year.

WWE 2K26 fans are discovering just how much of a grind the game's new battle pass system is after developer Visual Concepts replaced the traditional DLC model with it.

WWE 2K – like with all publisher 2K's yearly sports games, for the most part – is really into asking you to give it more money. For years, it has had its own spin on EA Sports' Ultimate Team card game – seen in the likes of EA Sports FC and Madden – which focuses on opening virtual booster packs, and on top of that, locks certain wrestlers that can be used in the regular modes behind random drops.

Last year, publisher 2K also introduced The Island, a pseudo MMO mode where you can pay in-game currency to buff your wrestler up, effectively creating a pay-to-win mode. This year, however, the WWE's nickel-and-diming has gotten even worse with the new WWE 2K26 Ringside Pass, or battle pass, of which there will be six drops over the course of the year.

Considering how bad just one Ringside Pass is, six is going to be ridiculous. For starters, the free track of Ringside Pass Season 1 has all of the old WWE Legends, belts, and arenas you would have previously been able to unlock through an in-game shop, or an "unlock everything" booster DLC. Players have also reported weird restrictions in the Ringside Pass, which seems to make any customization to a match – down to choosing what weapons appear under your ring – void it out and grant you zero progress.

There's also the issue of time. I played 30 hours of WWE 2K26 over its review period, and I barely made it past the halfway point of the 40-tier pass. YouTuber ThisGenGaming reports that they played the MyRise story two-and-a-half times, all of Showcase mode (which can't be repeated), a chapter of the Island, and a full segment of World Tour in MyFaction, on top of 40-50 regular matches to reach level 40, and the whole process took them about 40 hours. But you could also pay $77 per season to get tier skips, if you want to access content you've already paid for more quickly.

Needless to say, players on the WWEGames subreddit aren't happy. One user reports they haven't even hit Tier 2 after four Showcase matches and a regular match using an XP booster item.

"All I can do is laugh," their post reads. "I paid $150 for extra content and they want me to burn myself out just to use it? I have a job not to mention a life outside of WWE games I probably play 100-200 hours AT MOST every yr.. This is honestly one of the scummiest forms of corporate greed I've seen in a while, and the only thing worse are the 'just play the game' people defending it."

I'm not a blind battle pass hater, but this is one of the single worst ones I've ever seen. At least with the likes of Fortnite, you're only missing out on cosmetics, not full playable characters that would've been unlocked instantly after purchase any other year.

Plus, the WWE 2K26 DLC is looking to be one of the best in the series to date, with the likes of Earthquake, Brian Pillman, Bam Bam Bigelow, and the Hardy Boyz on the list. So what should've been an easy slam dunk for the game has actually become the worst thing about it.

WWE 2K26 review: "Outstanding action in the ring grapples with overly-monetized rewards, which feels like a work"

Fan-made GTA 5 multiplayer platform alt:V Multiplayer is closing its doors as the team claims Rockstar owner Take-Two itself has requested its shutdown, nine years since work on the project began.

The alt:V team has been working on its multiplayer platform for nine years now, describing it as "a free modification for Grand Theft Auto V that lets you play on dedicated servers with custom gamemodes." If that sounds familiar at all, it might be because it's the same sort of deal as FiveM – "a modification for Grand Theft Auto V enabling you to play multiplayer on customized dedicated servers, powered by Cfx.re." It's best known for housing roleplay servers.

In 2023, GTA developer Rockstar Games officially acquired the Cfx.re team, and consequently FiveM itself, which is still going strong to this day. However, by July, the same won't be able to be said for alt:V.

"This is not an easy message to write," alt:V team member Vadzz writes in a statement on the project's Discord server (highlighted by Twitter user @videotechuk_). "For the past nine years, we've been building alt:V – starting as a small side project and growing into a full-scale multiplayer platform used by hundreds of servers and thousands of players around the world. It's been years of solving hard problems and trying new ideas."

However, Vadzz alleges, "Rockstar Games and Take-Two Interactive have made it clear that FiveM is the only authorized platform for GTAV multiplayer modding, as defined in their Platform License Agreement (PLA). In accordance with that policy, and at Take-Two's request, alt:V will begin a structured shutdown process in 2026."

From March 2, "no new community servers should be accepted onto alt:V," while public access to the server toolkit will be discontinued. "We encourage all server owners currently operating on alt:V to begin planning their migration to FiveM as early as possible," Vadzz adds.

Then, by May 4, "the public server listing will be shut down and will no longer be accessible." Vadzz encourages users to "make sure you can still log into the Server Manager before this date, so your server continues working and you retain access to required tooling during the transition."

Finally, as of July 6, "alt:V is expected to reach end-of-support as community operations wind down. All remaining community servers are expected to cease operations by July 6, 2026. By that time, community servers must have migrated." With this, both the game client and server toolkit "will no longer be available or supported," while "backend infrastructure will be permanently shut down."

Vadzz acknowledges that "this is tough news for everyone – both developers and players. As FiveM is now Rockstar Games' official platform for modding-based experiences, we've done our best to give you extra time to move your servers to their new home, and we will continue to do everything we can to make the switch over as smooth as possible. All of us have put a huge amount of time and energy into building alt:V. Thank you for being part of this journey and for everything you've done to help multiplayer grow."

It's worth noting that the Creator Platform License Agreement for Cfx.re was updated just last month on January 12, so it seems likely that the alleged shutdown request followed this. Regardless of why this is apparently only being enforced now though, this is no doubt a blow for alt:V's still active community.

This all comes a year after claims from a former FiveM dev that the Rockstar-owned mod is dying.

Xbox Game Studios is reportedly planning to release the remake Halo: Campaign Evolved this summer, but it's concerned that the Fable reboot and Gears of War: E-Day will be outshone by GTA 6's scheduled November 19 debut.

So what is Campaign Evolved to you, Xbox? Master Chief's chopped liver? It's possible – Tom Warren reports for The Verge that sources at Microsoft expect Campaign Evolved this summer, when GTA parent company Take-Two wants to begin "launch marketing" for the virulently anticipated GTA 6. Xbox isn't preoccupied by that, but it is taking GTA 6 into consideration while scheduling Fable for the fall and Gears of War for "the second half of 2026," according to Warren.

This news reveals a slightly more hesitant Xbox than studio head Craig Duncan let on in a January interview with GamesRadar+, where the lead said about GTA developer Rockstar, "They're going to do what they're going to do."

"There's always other games, and there's always other things we have to consider," Duncan told us. "We ideally want to space things out and make sure games have their own, as we like to call it, oxygen in those moments," though he realizes "there are very few windows and there's more and more games, and more competition for a player's time."

Once you take every showcase, shadowdrop, and act of God across the industry into account, it's hard to disagree with him. "It's always busy and there's never really a free time to launch something," says Duncan. And if time is unkind to what Halo Studios tells us is the "faithful and modernized remake" Campaign Evolved, then, uh, so be it?

Think about it while perusing our Halo: Campaign Evolved hands-on preview.

Last week, Google gave its AI Ultra subscribers access to Project Genie, a tool that lets users generate and explore AI-generated worlds. Game stocks quickly cratered after the news, affecting even GTA 6 publisher Take-Two. The company's president does see value in Google's tech but is keen to remind investors that it's no replacement for a real game engine.

"Trying to make a comparison to a game engine is just, really – they're not even in the same ballpark," Take-Two president Karl Slatoff said in a financial call yesterday attended by GamesRadar+. "Genie is not a game engine."

If you, a person who's probably played at least one video game before, take a look at Project Genie in its current form, it'll be readily apparent that it's still quite some distance from an actual, complete game. It's light years beyond many previous interactive AI experiences, like the nightmarish Quake 2 demo Microsoft put out last year, but its generated worlds are no replacement from those crafted by actual developers.

Still, "it's very exciting technology," Slatoff said. "The question is, how can it benefit our creators? I think there will be a moment in time where that will become more defined. It certainly doesn't replace the creative process."

Slatoff acknowledges that "there are limitations, and Google has said as much," especially since it's currently focused on world generation in particular, which is only one part of making a game. "Even beyond world creation, there's everything else that's involved," Slatoff said. "There's the storyline, there's emotional connection, there's vibe, there's mission structure. All of those things you cannot capture through AI, and certainly not through a world builder. That's just a very, very small component of what we do. And if this tool bears out, it will make a component of what we do all that much better and more efficient."

All those truths are obvious to anyone who's picked up a controller before, but apparently not to a wide swathe of investors. As financial site Seeking Alpha reported last week, the Genie reveal caused some massive stock drops in the game industry, with game engine maker Unity dropping 21.6%, Roblox dropping 12.3%, and Take-Two dropping 9%.

But some financial analysts are urging caution, suggesting that these sorts of AI tools are not going to replace actual game publishers. In fact, the expectation seems to be that they'll simply make development more efficient. At least, that's the idea Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick is presenting.

"We're already seeing instances where generative AI tools are driving costs and time efficiencies," Zelnick said in a recent interview, but it's not a magic bullet – after all, with GTA 6 on the horizon, he still says "generative AI has zero part in what Rockstar Games is building."

You're probably better off picking up one of the best open-world games rather than getting into Project Genie.

Take-Two Interactive CEO Strauss Zelnick says that generative AI has no part in the development of GTA 6.

Speaking to GamesIndustry.Biz, Zelnick was asked about AI in game development following Google Genie's widespread effect on share prices across the industry, as shareholders – who definitely know how game development works – reckon you can generate entire video games now.

"On the topic of AI, I've been enthusiastic since the very beginning," says Zelnick, adding, "We've actually always been a leader in the space, and right now we have hundreds of pilots and implementations across our company, including within our studios. And we're already seeing instances where generative AI tools are driving costs and time efficiencies."

But despite his positivity about AI, Zelnick explains, "Do I think tools by themselves create great entertainment properties? No, there's no evidence that that's the case, and it won't be the case in the future." And as for GTA, Zelnick assures that "Generative AI has zero part in what Rockstar Games is building."

He adds, "Their worlds are handcrafted. That's what differentiates them. They're built from the ground up, building by building, street by street, neighborhood by neighborhood. They're not procedurally generated; they shouldn't be. That's what makes great entertainment."

Take-Two is using AI, but Zelnick seems to be adamant that it not be used for creativity, saying, "We use tools to do everything we do. We use digital technology to do everything we do. We always have, and we already are embracing AI as we always have. What I've said, and continue to say, is that tools don't replace creativity and tools are not projects, they're different things."

As everyone continues to fear $80 GTA 6, Take-Two CEO wants to "deliver way more value than what we charge"

Borderlands 4 will continue to be supported by Gearbox Software, says parent company Take-Two Interactive, which is still "very optimistic" about the looter shooter, five months after a launch it originally admitted was a "bit softer than we would've liked."

In a new interview with GamesIndustry.biz, Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick says that "we're still supporting Borderlands." He continues: "We'll have new content coming, we have updates coming and we still are very optimistic about that title.

"We think we'll continue to have strong sell-through of titles like that."

This echoes a statement made in the company's latest financial earnings call by Take-Two president Karl Slatoff. "Gearbox Software will continue to support Borderlands 4 with new content and updates, and we expect the title to achieve strong sell-through over its lifetime," he says.

This optimism from the parent company comes despite things not being entirely smooth sailing for the game since its release. Back in November, just under two months on from its initial launch, Zelnick said that "the release was a bit softer than we would have liked," pointing to the PC performance woes the looter shooter was up against at launch. Even so, it set a number of sales records in the US, including being the fastest-selling game in the series' history.

And then there's the ongoing situation with the indefinitely delayed Switch 2 release. Despite featuring in the first big Switch 2 reveal Direct, then later being given an October release date, it was eventually delayed due to needing "additional development and polish time."

Now, it's been revealed that Take-Two has "made the difficult decision to pause development on that SKU," which doesn't sound particularly promising. Instead, Take-Two spokesperson Alan Lewis says, "Our focus continues to be delivering quality post-launch content for players on the ongoing improvements to optimize the game."

Be sure to take a look at our Borderlands 4 review if you're yet to pick up the game, as well as our top Borderlands 4 tips to get you started.

As discussions about GTA 6 costing $80 or even $100 continue to strike fear into the hearts of many, Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick has commented on keeping the game affordable.

While there hasn't really been concrete evidence – or anything to actually spur the discussion – everyone collectively decided one day to fear that GTA 6 would have a high price point. For years, people have been speculating whether Rockstar will charge more than the typical game price, with the prevailing thought being that if any game could get away with it, it would be one as anticipated as GTA 6. And while the idea of a $100 GTA was probably a bit over the top, with Nintendo charging $80 for Mario Kart World, the floodgate was opened for others to follow suit.

When asked about the affordability of GTA 6 in a recent investors meeting, Zelnick explained that "we do feel a compact with the consumer" when it comes to pricing. He adds, "We've talked about for a very long time to deliver way more value than what we charge. I think we're known for that."

Zelnick adds that "we're in the business of entertaining people. We're not in the business of creating revenue. Revenue comes from entertaining people." He also says that Take-Two wants "everyone to be able to engage," saying that "on a real basis, we're making it more and more affordable and more and more accessible."

Of course, this doesn't mean that there won't be ways to charge more, GTA Online is obviously a huge way to make money after the fact. Plus, this is the same Take-Two whose 2K Games label revealed four separate versions of WWE 2K26 before any footage was shown, with the $100, $130, and $150 versions all releasing a week before the game's actual release. Now, maybe GTA 6 itself could be a regular-priced game, but I suspect a large group of people would easily pay $100 or more to get access to it a week before everyone else.

GTA 6 physical copies will not be delayed to avoid leaks, says Take-Two CEO: "That's not the plan."

GTA 6 is still on track to release this November, but if you were worried about GTA Online ceasing to exist when that happens, Take-Two Interactive boss Strauss Zelnick reassures fans that he has "every reason to believe" it'll continue to be supported into the future.

During a Q&A session yesterday following the latest earnings call for Rockstar Games owner Take-Two Interactive, Zelnick was asked what his view of the "current iteration" of GTA Online will be in a post-GTA 6 world. Although he first acknowledges that "we have a pretty light touch when we talk about the label's creative activities," he's quick to offer some reassurance about Rockstar's constantly evolving online experience.

"At the same time, I have every reason to believe we'll continue to support GTA Online. There's a great community that loves it, that stays engaged, and again, in this quarter, Rockstar has shown that when you deliver great additional content, despite how long GTA Online has been at market, people show up," he explains.

This follows the release of GTA Online's big A Safehouse in the Hills update, which launched in December 2025. Earlier in the earnings call, Zelnick notes that "the Grand Theft Auto series also vastly outpaced our forecast," with the earnings presentation revealing recurrent customer spending growth for the quarter was up 27% for GTA Online.

Fans have been wondering for a while what might happen to GTA Online after GTA 6 launches – could we get a successor to it that ultimately leads to the shutdown of the existing game? Last year, Zelnick offered similar reassurances to fans by noting that, "generally speaking, we support our properties when the consumers are involved with those titles," and adding that historically, "we've shown a willingness to support legacy titles when a community wants to be engaged with them." Basically, it sounds like as long as GTA Online has an active fanbase, there isn't much to worry about – in theory, at least.

GTA 6 physical copies will not be delayed to avoid leaks, says Take-Two CEO: "That's not the plan."

While recent rumors suggested that physical copies of Grand Theft Auto 6 would be delayed in an effort to avoid leaks, Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick himself says that's not the case. Physical media enjoyers can rest easy, as it seems we're all going to be able to pick up GTA 6 at launch.

Asked about the rumored delays to physical editions of GTA 6, Zelnick's response to Variety was simple: "That’s not the plan."

The rumor stems from a report published by Polish outlet PPE.pl, citing anonymous sources in saying that discs could be delayed anywhere from a few weeks to a few months after the digital launch. The report suggested that such a delay would likely have been due to fears of story and gameplay leaks.

GamesRadar+ reached out to Rockstar for comment on the rumors at the time, but did not receive a response.

Take-Two has also doubled down on GTA 6's November 19 release date, even going so far as to start marketing the marketing. That's despite separate rumors of a potential delay, sparked largely by a misquote attributed to Bloomberg reporter Jason Schreier.

Meanwhile, Rockstar is embroiled in controversy around the firing of over 30 employees connected with unionization efforts. Whether that has any effect on GTA 6's eventual launch remains to be seen, but it certainly seems that Rockstar and Take-Two are confident in their current launch plans.

Grand Theft Auto 6 will define 2026 and the future of gaming, for better or worse.

In late 2025, GTA 6 studio Rockstar dismissed over 30 employees for what the company called "gross misconduct," particularly leaking "specific game features" from upcoming titles in a "public forum." That forum, it turns out, was a private Discord server where employees apparently discussed working conditions at the studio and spoke with organizers at the Independent Workers' Union of Great Britain. Newly revealed court documents from Rockstar say that one of the big new features these employees were discussing was a 32-player online mode.

This month, a judge heard from representatives of both Rockstar and the fired employees, ultimately ruling in the company's favor and denying interim relief to the affected workers ahead of the upcoming trial. In that hearing, as reported by People Make Games, Rockstar's representative barrister Andrew Burns referenced a "top secret" feature of GTA 6 revealed in employee Discord messages.

Burns didn't want to discuss this feature in public, so he asked the judge to read that message privately. Despite those secrecy concerns, the documents presented in court were not subject to any reporting restrictions, allowing PMG to view them at the Glasgow Tribunals Centre.

One message in question shared in the video above was part of a conversation about Rockstar limiting the number of employees who could take time off at once, which then mentions a large session taking place involving 32 players that was "difficult" to do.

32-player online sessions are, of course, exactly what's already offered in GTA 5's online mode – 30 players active in a lobby, with up to two more able to spectate. Numerous other Discord messages are included in Rockstar's court filings, including talk related to AI policy at the company, travel considerations, and crunch (or lack thereof) at various sub-studios. But this is the only specific game feature PMG describes in its rundown of these messages.

In Rockstar's filed grounds of resistance, the company added that it was "gravely concerned" to have discovered that employees "had been sharing highly confidential and commercially sensitive information relating to the content and features of an unannounced online service. They discussed the specific number of online players planned for this service, a material feature of this new title, which has not yet been revealed by Rockstar."

Anticipation for GTA 6 isn't enough to overshadow Rockstar Games' alleged union-busting scandal, as a Scottish councillor calls for political action.

A group that made GTA Vice City playable in a browser has reported that Take-Two Interactive has shut down the project.

Browser-based emulation is nothing really new at this point. For years, you've been able to play classic games from the comfort of a webpage - but that is usually reserved for games that aren't very taxing, like NES, SNES, and Mega Drive titles. Somehow, though, a group managed to get GTA Vice City running in a web browser – in its original form, which is no longer available to purchase due to the new "The Definitive Edition" release.

The browser version was a small demo that let you provide your game files to play the whole thing, but sadly, that was still apparently too much for the powers that be.

If you go to the GTA: Vice City page on DOS.Zone now, you'll see a message that says, "This game was removed from the website due to a DMCA takedown request from Take-Two." Alongside this message is a screenshot of an email received by web protection company Ebrand, which claims to be acting on "behalf of Take-Two Interactive Software Inc." This email asks the DOS.Zone team to remove everything related to Vice City, noting that if there is a failure to comply, "Take-Two reserves all rights to pursue further legal remedies."

Naturally, the DOS.Zone team complied with the request, meaning that the GTA Vice City browser days were short-lived. A big shame in the case of a game like Vice City, where it is impossible to purchase the original version of the game anymore officially, and even if you do manage to nab an overpriced copy from a key seller, it's still a version of the game that is missing original music.

GTA Tokyo "almost actually happened" until the idea fizzled out: "It doesn't make sense to set it in some left-field location for novelty."

GTA 6 developer Rockstar is once again refuting allegations of union busting stemming from its firing of 34 employees in the UK and Canada this fall, calling the claims "entirely false" and accusing the former employees of leaking "specific game features from upcoming and unannounced titles."

Rockstar's apparently unexpected firings prompted immediate blowback from the Independent Workers' Union of Great Britain (IWGB), which represents all 34 fired employees. The IWGB labeled the move "the most ruthless act of union busting in the history of the UK games industry." Notably, all affected workers were either union members or planning to organize.

Rockstar parent company Take-Two Interactive has said the firings were due to "gross misconduct," and Rockstar itself has said the impacted workers had leaked "confidential information," insisting the dismissals were "in no way related to people's right to join a union."

In a new statement to IGN, the studio doubles down on that: "Rockstar Games took action against a small group of individuals, across the UK and internationally, who distributed and discussed confidential information (including specific game features from upcoming and unannounced titles) in a public forum, in breach of company policy and their legal obligations. Claims that these dismissals were linked to union membership or activities are entirely false and misleading," reads the statement.

Fired workers and union representatives dispute that version of events. IWGB president Alex Marshall claimed in November that the "public forum" Rockstar keeps referring to was a private Discord server where employees discussed their working conditions. According to Marshall, workers "should be legally protected" to communicate in this way.

Following several high-profile protests, the commotion around the firings has echoed through the highest echelons of UK governance, with Prime Minister Keir Starmer having recently described the situation as "deeply concerning" and pledging to "look into" it.

Meanwhile, the IWGB told GamesRadar+ in November, "If Rockstar wants to put things right it can reinstate the staff it fired, recognize the IWGB Union, and start listening to the workers that make it its billions." The union has filed legal charges against Rockstar over "unfair dismissal of staff."

GTA 6's delay reportedly had nothing to do with recent Rockstar Games firings and alleged union busting, but it could impact production further down the line

Rockstar is once again under the microscope for firing 31 workers in UK and Canada offices this fall, an act parent company Take-Two claims was made necessary by "gross misconduct" – but the Independent Workers' Union of Great Britain (IWGB) alleges was really a flagrant example of union busting. Now, following several protests in front of Rockstar offices, the issue of firings has finally floated up to UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who says he'll "look into" it.

Labour Party Member of Parliament (MP) Chris Murray brought up the Rockstar firings to Starmer on December 10, feeling concerned about his constituents: "Having met Rockstar, they failed to reassure me they are following employment law, and I share concerns about union busting."

"Does the PM agree all companies regardless of profit size must follow UK employment law and all workers have the right to join a union?" Murray asks. The Prime Minister responds, "It's a deeply concerning case. Every worker has the right to join a trade union and we're determined to strengthen workers rights and ensure they don't face unfair consequences for being part of a union. Our ministers will look into the particular case the member raises and will keep him updated."

ROCKSTAR UPDATE:Keir Starmer was just asked about the Rockstar firings in Parliament today where he described the situation as "deeply concerning" and promised it would be looked into by government ministers.Not that a Starmer promise is worth much, mind.

— @chrisbratt.bsky.social (@chrisbratt.bsky.social.bsky.social) 2025-12-10T15:45:10.716Z

In a statement to the IWGB, Murray reiterates that his personal meeting with Rockstar "only entrenched my concerns about the process Rockstar used to dismiss so many of their staff members. I was not assured their process paid robust attention to UK employment law, I was not convinced that this course of action was necessary, and alarmingly, I did not leave informed on exactly what these 31 people had done to warrant their immediate dismissal."

For its part, the IWGB told GamesRadar+ in November that, "If Rockstar wants to put things right it can reinstate the staff it fired, recognize the IWGB Union, and start listening to the workers that make it its billions."

"The games industry is plagued by job insecurity," the organization said. "The only way to fight it is for workers to come together and use their collective power to push back."

Rockstar accused of "ruthless" firing ahead of GTA 6, cutting over 30 employees tied to dev union: Take-Two claims "gross misconduct," labor group says "we won't back down."

A new Perfect Dark game may have been unceremoniously cancelled over the summer, but something is forming from the ashes of that project. Two key devs have been tapped to lead a studio at Grand Theft Auto and Borderlands owner Take-Two, though details are currently limited.

This comes from Bloomberg reporter Jason Schreier, who followed up on coverage he’d put together on Perfect Dark's demise. "Earlier this year I broke the news that Take-Two was close to rescuing Xbox's Perfect Dark but the deal fell apart," he posted on BlueSky. "Now, a new development: Take-Two has hired Perfect Dark studio head Darrell Gallagher and director Brian Horton to start a brand new studio within 2K."

Gallagher will serve as studio head and senior vice president, while Horton will be the vice president and head of creative. 2K acknowledged the hires in a statement to IGN. "With a combined six decades of AAA game-making experience across franchises like Tomb Raider, Call of Duty, Destiny, Marvel’s Spider-Man, Hitman, Deus Ex, and more, we’re thrilled to confirm Darrell Gallagher and Brian Horton have joined 2K for their next all-new venture," a company spokesperson says.

Earlier this year I broke the news that Take-Two was close to rescuing Xbox’s Perfect Dark but the deal fell apart.Now, a new development: Take-Two has hired Perfect Dark studio head Darrell Gallagher and director Brian Horton to start a brand new studio within 2K.

— @jasonschreier.bsky.social (@jasonschreier.bsky.social.bsky.social) 2025-12-09T14:25:19.831Z

"We don't have additional details to share at this time, but look forward to sharing updates on their work in the future."

The pair comes from The Initiative, an in-house team at Xbox Game Studios whose first release was intended to be the latest Perfect Dark. After being revealed in 2020, company-wide layoffs at Microsoft resulted in The Initiative being dissolved and the game shelved. As specified, there were attempts to shop this iteration of the sci-fi FPS around, but they didn’t yield results, placing Joanna Dark back in limbo.

Given the nature of how the devs came into contact with Take-Two, I'd speculate they've been brought in to make another shooter, but that's just a guess for now. We'll have to wait and see what comes of it - watch this space.

Perfect Dark Joanna Dark actor calls for a Hi-Fi Rush-style revival after Microsoft cancels the reboot, as Starfield and Deus Ex star reveals his scrapped role will cost him "thousands of dollars."

Grand Theft Auto has proven to be one of the most successful, influential, and beloved video game series of all time, but it wasn't all smooth sailing for Rockstar, a studio which has probably been blamed for each and every one of society's ills at one point or another. According to Rockstar co-founder Dan Houser, GTA's success created a whole lot of issues thanks to scrutiny from the US government.

"Our experience was success created loads of problems," Houser says in a recent interview for Virgin Radio (via VGC). "It was just worth it to have fun and do what you want to do."

Pressed on the exact nature of those "problems," Houser says that "it brought the US government down on us. They decided we were the only people on the internet peddling pornography, apparently, which was ridiculous. They nearly shut us down. We got fined a huge amount of money and it was very disruptive to the company. Some of my team members quit, and it was really tough."

After the popularity of the series exploded in the wake of Grand Theft Auto 3's launch, GTA became one of the more popular scapegoats for criticism of violence and sex in video games. Houser doesn't name any specific incident, but his comments seem to allude to the Hot Coffee controversy, when modders discovered an unused playable sex minigame buried in the files of San Andreas.

Ultimately, the Hot Coffee discovery snowballed into an FTC investigation and an ultimately failed bill sponsored by Democratic then-senator Hillary Clinton which would've made it a crime to sell M-rated games to minors. Rockstar wasn't technically fined for the incident, but the company did suspend sales of the game while the developers fully removed the Hot Coffee files, which cost publisher Take-Two a reported $24.5 million dollars at the time.

As Houser sees it, the US politicians going after GTA were presenting these issues as "matters of public decency, but our discovery was they wanted a media bogeyman. It was mostly led by sort of centrist Democrats and they wanted a media bogeyman. They couldn't go after Hollywood because they were getting a lot of money out of Hollywood, and they couldn't go after rap music as that had funky racial connotations, so go after video games. We were an easy bogeyman and didn't understand the system."

From Houser's perspective, video games like GTA provided an easy scapegoat. "'We finally figured out the problems in America,'" he says, mocking the perspective of US politicians. "'It's these idiots.' And we were those idiots."

Rockstar certainly got the last laugh with many of the best open-world games of all time under its belt and GTA 6 poised to be one of the biggest entertainment launches ever.

One GTA 6 "news" account is suddenly finding itself in enemy territory as Rockstar fans, its former compatriots, realize its exclusive game footage is actually AI. Though the Zap Actu GTA6 account has already removed its generated videos from Twitter – along with several other posts referencing them – following a report from IGN, those who have been duped are still too enraged to be satisfied.

The purported GTA 6 "leak" gained 8 million views in only a day, despite some fans warning each other that any video coming out of Zap Actu GTA6's account was worthless. Undeterred at first, Zap Actu GTA6 boasted that "the situation is escalating fast" and "MASSIVE LEAK IMMINENT." But as more people uncovered the truth, Zap Actu GTA6 discovered the unholy powers of a GTA player scorned.

"I'm sorry if I raised false hopes for people; I admit I didn't think things through properly," Zap Actu GTA6 tells one critic. "Originally, I just wanted to create some kind of hype and see if people would catch on that it was AI. I wouldn't have thought it would go this far. Sorry to the people I disappointed."

"For me it was more to amuse the community in reality, but oh well, it's not working," they say in another reply. "I'm not gonna force something that people don't appreciate."

And yet… The account owner has now rebranded as Actuzz MAG, telling IGN they were "sorry for the false hope." Nonetheless, they have posted more AI-generated news speculating on "GTA 6: A Snow-Covered Vice City for Christmas 2026? A Winter DLC Fans Are Already Dreaming Of." Let's call it a lesson half-learned.

Rockstar co-founder Dan Houser says GTA is so successful because of its "sense of freedom," and because it "smashed together" shooting, driving, and simulation genres in a way games hadn't done before.

Rockstar has apparently banned gamer and gambler TeufeurSoff's GTA 5 wizard roleplay server, and the gaming personality is distraught. He also won't stop talking about Harry Potter.

TeufeurSoff, who goes by Teuf, seems to think the SevenWands server was removed for its apparent similarity to that other wizarding world – even though a FiveM modder who says they've checked "with the staff" suspects the ban instead has to do with the mod framework. GamesRadar+ has reached out to Rockstar for comment.

Teuf, too, is reaching out, but he seems to be grabbing fistfuls of air. He addresses Rockstar and the FiveM framework directly in a nervous post on Twitter, telling them, "You banned my SevenWands server for no reason, or for the wrong reasons."

"Please know that I paid a team of developers and mappers for 13 months to create my own magical universe. I created a lore, I created spells, I created factions, all from my own imagination and that of my team," Teuf says, claiming to have spent more than $100,000 on creating SevenWands, which he maintains has already accrued 10,000 total players.

"We have NOTHING TO DO with Harry Potter," he reminds the air. "Obviously, as fans of the franchise, we were inspired by it, and I can't hide my love for it. But out of respect for your rules, I decided to create my own magical world, with absolutely everything made from scratch."

"We do everything for the community," Teuf concludes, "and we hope you will quickly resolve this issue, which is undeserved."

Former Rockstar and GTA lead Dan Houser says gaming can "either go somewhere really interesting or somewhere that gets overly focused on making money."

While GTA 6 is currently all set to release simultaneously on both PS5 and Xbox Series X|S when it eventually launches next November (a year as of yesterday, hang in there, folks), that wasn't a luxury Xbox always had. In fact, one former Xbox exec says Rockstar needed convincing that Microsoft's console wasn't "going to be a flop" in order to get the series on there.

Speaking in a new interview with Eurogamer for the Xbox 360's anniversary, Peter Moore – former corporate vice president of Microsoft's home and entertainment division who was responsible for all Xbox marketing and operations – talks about bringing GTA to Xbox. GTA 4 was the first Grand Theft Auto game to arrive on Xbox (specifically, the 360) at the same time as the rival PlayStation release (on a date Moore got a tattoo to advertise) – before that, the releases of Vice City and GTA 3 respectively arrived a year and two years after they did on Sony's consoles. The series' earlier entries never arrived on Microsoft's hardware at all.

Moore says bringing GTA to Xbox was "a big moment." He explains: "If you weren't around in those days, the GTA franchise was a PlayStation exclusive. To their credit, PlayStation had bet on GTA 3 and from there on had done a deal and more credit to them. But we needed GTA. We needed that franchise and everything going forward from Rockstar on our platform."

So, Xbox "bet big on that and came to an agreement," with Moore making reference to his infamous tattoo: "Of course it needed a tattoo." This involved Moore's team getting together and asking, "what is it going to take? What can we do that has a little bit of Xbox 360 exclusivity in there? Is there a map, is there something in there? Are there Easter eggs?"

But the agreement wasn't just about money, it was about convincing Rockstar that the platform was worthwhile.

"Money's important, but they needed convincing that their development resources, which needed to be shifted to Xbox SDKs, weren't going to be wasted if the console was going to be a flop," Moore explains, adding that "you can get paid all the money in the world to cover all your costs, but if it doesn't sell, that's an opportunity cost to the developer that they could have deployed on a console that would sell."

Thankfully though, Rockstar and owner Take-Two Interactive "joined us and believed in us, and it all worked out for all of us."

Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick says the industry is "moving towards PC" even if consoles are "never going away," but still hasn't confirmed if GTA 6 is coming to PC.

Take-Two Interactive CEO Strauss Zelnick says he thinks the industry is moving towards PC gaming, even if consoles will probably never go away.

PC gaming has definitely had a surge of momentum over the past decade, with more and more moving to the platform as their main system as previously console-focused publishers like PlayStation, Konami, and Atlus have started releasing their games on PC. Not to mention, the major consoles – especially Xbox – are effectively PCs with custom UIs at this point, while handheld PCs like the Steam Deck and ROG Ally are also making a splash.

Speaking to CNBC, Take-Two Interactive CEO Strauss Zelnick says the industry is "moving towards PC and business is moving towards open rather than closed." However, even if the industry does move toward PC gaming, he doesn't think consoles will ever go away, adding: "If you define console as the property, not the system, then the notion of a very rich game that you engage in for many hours that you play on a big screen – that's never going away."

Of course, we are seeing the beginning of this somewhat with hardware like the Steam Machine and the aforementioned handheld PCs, where they do have their dedicated OS, but I can also pop onto a web browser and download an emulator for my game backups. And given how Xbox seems to be moving away from the traditional closed-console ecosystem, I wouldn't be shocked to see Microsoft's next system be like that.

Of course, there's a bit of cruel irony that Strauss Zelnick is saying this when what will likely be his company's biggest game of all time – GTA 6 – isn't coming to PC. Or at least, Rockstar Games hasn't confirmed that it is. It will likely come to PC later down the line based on Rockstar Games' previous releases (and presumably the amount of double-dips that release pattern brings), but if PC is really set to be the main platform going forward, let's hope Rockstar catches up and looks to bring its games to PC on day one going forward.

"Rockstar delaying GTA 6 is a flex": Analyst says the studio's "most valuable currency" is anticipation, so Take-Two is strategically polishing its $2.7 billion project

I don't think there's enough rebar on the planet to keep GTA 6 from blowing your house down. GamesRadar+ checked with experts, and they all agree developer Rockstar is unstoppable with its sequel, due November 19, 2026.

We asked them explicitly: Is there any force that could stop GTA 6 from being one of the biggest launches of all time? Circana analyst Mat Piscatella answers with a resolute, "No. (And if there were some force that could do that I'm not sure I'd want to consider what it could be.)"

"The release of this game will be the gaming event of the decade," he emphasizes.

This is his opinion even though GTA 6 has been delayed and Rockstar has taken a bit of a beating – at the moment, the Independent Workers' Union of Great Britain (IWGB) is staging protests across Europe in defense of 31 former Rockstar employees it says were wrongly fired for union activity. UK Parliament has started actively discussing this alleged act of union busting, with Parliament member Christine Jardine explicitly asking Ministers "to support workers who have lost their jobs, and stop this from happening again."

But Rockstar and its parent company Take-Two are such giants, its ongoing labor controversy might be more like getting bit by a mosquito than a bear. CEO of Kantan Games, a consultancy that focuses on the Japanese game industry, Dr. Serkan Toto believes that "it's such a big organization that I doubt Take-Two's management gave thought to the fired workers for more than 1 minute."

The GTA 6 launch delays, then, are even less significant. NYU Stern School of Business professor Joost van Dreunen tells us, "Financially, the delay has an insignificant impact on the company. Take-Two's strong quarterly results, bolstered by Zynga’s turnaround and 2K’s solid year, give it breathing room."

"GTA 6 will deliver its projected $2.7 billion launch windfall," van Dreunen continues. "Take-Two can afford patience."

In short, as DFC Intelligence consultancy CEO David Cole phrases it, "We really don't see any force that could stop GTA 6."

"Going against GTA 6 for such games would be suicide": GTA 6 delay is bad for everyone except Rockstar, as analysts predict major devs will avoid a 2026 winter release like it's rancid.

Like rain or a birthday party, you can't avoid the inevitability of GTA 6. For fans, anticipating one of the biggest video game launches in history is exciting. But other developers should treat it more like a stick of dynamite and avoid its delayed release window at all costs, analysts say.

Even after several delays rendering it immaterial until November 19, 2026, Rockstar's long anticipated GTA 5 sequel will undoubtedly be "the gaming event of the decade," Circana industry analyst Mat Piscatella tells GamesRadar+, "so no matter when it releases it will provide its own gravity."

He usually asks developers to retain a sprinkle of confidence, telling us, "There are no open release windows anymore. So generally, I believe folks should put out their games at the best time for them and not worry too much about competitive releases."

But Piscatella takes this advice back with GTA 6. "In this case," he says about the game's release date, "I'd make a very big exception and would want to avoid that week if possible."

Dr. Serkan Toto, CEO of Japan-focused consultancy Kantan Games, remarks that "GTA 6 itself would sell extremely well even if [Rockstar parent company] Take-Two set the release to December 31, 2026 at midnight." With that in mind, "any blockbuster previously planned for a holiday 2026 is very likely not happening now, as going against GTA 6 for such games would be suicide."

It hurts, but it's true. "GTA 6 is likely to suck all the air out of the room," DFC Intelligence consultancy CEO David Cole tells us.

Still, with multiple delays already behind GTA 6 – Rockstar has been developing the game, in some capacity, for over a decade – Toto notes "there is of course the very real danger of avoiding winter 2026 (and missing the most lucrative season for video games) only to see Take-Two delay GTA 6 again into 2027."

Another delay might upset everyone – fans and other major game developers – but Rockstar will undoubtedly remain as calm as lavender. In fact, NYU Stern School of Business video games professor Joost van Dreunen tells us "Rockstar delaying GTA 6 is a flex. The studio knows that anticipation is its most valuable currency, and it's making the most of it."

GTA 5's Trevor actor feels "nothing inside" for GTA 6 and tells gamers to go "read Dostoevsky's Crime and Punishment," while Franklin's actor says "f*** that book."

As foretold by a random ESRB rating, Red Dead Redemption is set to receive another re-release – this time, to a number of next-gen consoles and Netflix for subscribers, for some reason. In addition to the movie streamer and part-time gaming site, the 2010 cowboy drama and its Undead Nightmare expansion will stampede onto PS5, Xbox Series, and Nintendo Switch 2, as well as iOS and Android mobile devices, on December 2.

That ESRB rating revealed ahead of the re-release news doesn't tell us much about what the upcoming edition of Red Dead and Undead Nightmare will do differently than their past iterations ("One sequence depicts a man injecting himself with a syringe full of cocaine"; yeah, we know), though an announcement on the Rockstar website suggests there will be changes.

"Free upgrades, the ability to carry over game progress, and a number of enhancements," the GTA 6 developer promises. Both the main game and its expansion will also include Game of the Year Edition bonus content.

"Players on PS5 and Xbox Series X|S can look forward to a smooth 60 frames per second experience," Rockstar writes, "enhanced image quality, HDR support, and resolutions up to 4K." Red Dead's Nintendo Switch 2 port will likewise offer 60fps "at high resolution," and even support for the console's idiosyncratic mouse controls.

Even better, "Anyone who owns the PS4 version can utilize previous PS4 save data to pick up where they left off, and Switch 2 players can continue with their previous save data from the previous Nintendo Switch console," Rockstar adds. It's not so bad in the Wild West.

"Rockstar want us to feel scared": GTA 6 studio staff plan international protests demanding Rockstar reinstate 31 employees it claims were leaking information.

220 Rockstar staff members have signed a letter telling the GTA 6 developer they believe its recent firing of 31 workers was obvious union busting, not retribution for leaking "confidential information" like it claims. To explain this better to Rockstar in person, the Independent Workers' Union of Great Britain (IWGB) has planned three international protests.

These protests are currently scheduled to take place in Paris and London on November 14 in front of the cities' respective offices for Take-Two Interactive, Rockstar's parent company. Additionally, a march is scheduled for Edinburgh on November 18, and protesters will walk from Rockstar North's headquarters in Barclay House to Scottish Parliament.

Twisting the knife, the IWGB also recently filed legal claims against Rockstar "asserting that it will pursue all avenues to ensure that members are reinstated and granted interim relief," the organization says in a press release.

"It's heartwarming to see so many of our colleagues supporting us and holding management to account – during a period where Rockstar want us to feel scared, my brave former colleagues are marching straight up to our boss's door," one fired Rockstar employee says in the release. While Rockstar maintains that "we took action against a small number of individuals who were found to be distributing and discussing confidential information in a public forum," something "in no way related to people's right to join a union," the IWGB and impacted employees disagree.

"It's clear to everyone close to this situation that this is a blatant, unapologetic act of vicious union busting," the former Rockstar staff member alleges. Each of the 31 fired developers were part of the IWGB Union and a Discord server dedicated to discussing union activities.

"By deciding to fire more than 30 union members, Rockstar have carried out an Amazon-style act of union-busting unprecedented in the games industry," claims IWGB organizer Fred Carter. "This is a company that benefits from more than £440 million in UK tax relief, while displaying a callous and blatant disregard for both the livelihood of workers and the letter of the law."

The IWGB has not yet responded to GamesRadar+'s requests for comment.

With big "this is fine" energy, Take-Two CEO says GTA 6 will be the "most extraordinary title anyone's ever seen in the history of entertainment" as latest delay sends Grand Theft Auto fans spiraling.

The Independent Workers' union of Great Britain (IWGB) has issued legal claims against GTA 6 developer Rockstar after the recent firing of 31 employees for what parent company Take-Two called "gross misconduct." Rockstar, for its part, said the impacted employees had been "distributing and discussing confidential information in a public forum." Really, claims the IWGB, Rockstar was trying to crush a fledgling union before one of the biggest video game launches in history.

"What we've seen here is plain and simple union busting," IWGB president Alex Marshall says in a November 12 statement revealing the organization's legal action against Rockstar. "Employers like Rockstar would do well to understand that private spaces such as trade union Discord servers have protections, and that their company's contractual clauses do not supersede UK law."

According to an October Bloomberg report, the 31 impacted Rockstar employees were all members of the same private Discord group dedicated to discussing unionization. At the time, Take-Two company spokesperson Alan Lewis told GamesRadar+, "Rockstar Games terminated a small number of individuals for gross misconduct, and for no other reason. As always, we fully support Rockstar's ambitions and approach."

In response to a follow-up question now asking for Take-Two's response to the IWGB's legal claims, Lewis told us, "We do not have any comments beyond the statements that both T2 and Rockstar Games issued over the last two weeks on the matter." The IWGB has not yet responded to a request for comment.

The organization, however, shares some additional thoughts on Rockstar in a November 6 post on Twitter: "Fire 31 staff for organising a union, realise you've fucked up, put out a misleading statement about leaks even though there haven't been leaks, delay game, disappoint fans.

"All in a week's work for Rockstar."

Marshall summarizes the sentiment in his official statement, writing, "We will not be intimidated."

Union leader says fired GTA 6 devs weren't leaking Rockstar secrets, they were talking about working conditions on a private Discord: "They should be legally protected to do that."

It's impossible to overstate just how big Grand Theft Auto has gotten. We're at the point where GTA 6 almost seems a lock to be the most important video game ever released, and woe be to any open-world developer who might hope to topple it. Chris Stockman, design director of the original Saints Row, knows a thing or two about trying to compete with GTA. His advice? Don't do it.

As Stockman says to FRVR, any open-world game trying to tread in the same space as GTA has "'gotta have its own identify back, it's gotta have its own thing, but you can't say, 'I'm going after GTA'. You can't. Not anymore. It's impossible." GTA Online has made the series more of "a lifestyle" than a straight-up video game, and as Stockman sees it, the only way anyone might have a hope of knocking off GTA 6 is if it's a disaster of unprecedented proportions.

"It's going to be the biggest game, probably of all time, and I'll just say this," Stockman continues. "The only way for someone to really give them a run for their money is if they have a huge misstep. If it comes out and it’s terrible, God forbid the industry, oh my gosh, right? It's E.T. all over again, but worse because the budgets. It's going to be a complete disaster. I don't expect that to happen but, if it is, oh my Lord."

E.T., of course, is the infamous Atari 2600 game which legend says single-handedly destroyed Atari and brought the pre-Nintendo video game industry to ruin. The truth is, of course, quite a bit more complicated than that, but E.T. turned into a laughing stock that helped break Atari, which was the pillar of the US video game market at the time.

GTA 6 is launching into a completely different set of circumstances, but its fortunes are still tied up with those of the industry as whole, with analysts calling its delay – that is, the delay to May 2026, not the new delay to November 2026 – a step into "nightmare scenario territory" for this year's video game industry forecast.

But hey, there still is room for you to make a mark with an open-world game, Stockman says. You just have to be comfortable not being the biggest one on the block. "The industry is bigger than its ever been in the sense that people hunger for games. People hunger for new experiences. I think it's entirely possible to be a number two, there's nothing wrong with trying to be a number two if you play your cards right."

Stockman continues, "You don't go crazy, you be very focused, you don't look at GTA as a North Star and say, 'I wanna be that'. You have a clear identity and this is what you’re trying to do. And you don't have to be a 100 hour masterpiece, and you just gotta be smart about it."

That doesn't sound far off from how Saints Row jumped into the market in 2006, making a splash as a GTA alternative with its own identity while fans waited for GTA 4. Saints Row dug out a niche for itself over the years that followed, but, well, GTA remains the one ready to shake the industry once again while it seems like a long shot for Saints Row to ever return to life.

There are plenty of great number twos on our list of the best open-world games.