With the recent revelations from Bloomberg about the development of GTA 6, we have learned a little more about this next installment of the famous franchise, and about Rockstar in general. We will explain everything to you.
[Mis à jour le 28 juillet 2022 à 12h42] Long controversial for its rather muscular content, the GTA series has since become one of the biggest pillars in the history of video games. And for good reason, GTA 5 is 155 million copies sold and 9 years of existence, making its developer Rockstar one of the biggest studios in the history of the industry. Today, it is the functioning of this studio which was revealed to us by Bloomberg, and especially the positive changes which have profoundly modified it over the past four years. Changes that also impacted the development of GTA 6, of which we now know two crucial pieces of information. We summarize everything for you.
Rockstar changes, and so does GTA
Let’s start by giving back to Caesar what is Caesar’s. All this information has been gleaned and verified by the journalists of Bloomberg. After a long job of interviewing employees and ex-employees of the Rockstar Games studio, the editorial staff of the newspaper was finally able to take the temperature of the development of GTA 6. We learn in their article that the game has been in development for a while now , and that its production has experienced the positive effects of major organizational and management changes within the studio. Goodbye to the “crunch culture” (management practice aimed at drastically increasing the working hours of employees before the release of a video game) and hello to inclusiveness and respect. The new face of Rockstar seems to define the studio as a model company.
These changes would have started after the panel that followed various harassment scandals within the American studio. By dismissing certain senior executives and profoundly modifying its structure, Rockstar would have become an exemplary workplace, described by its employees as being “gone from a college fraternity to a model professional company“. It is also the content of Rockstar games that has benefited from this new working atmosphere, separating itself from a few transphobic scenes and a “Cops vs. Thugs” game mode on the sidelines of the George Floyd affair. in 2018.
As for the development of GTA 6, Jason Schreier reports that the new working atmosphere at Rockstar Games is felt even in the creation of the game. The next GTA would be the first in the series to have us play a woman, a great first in franchise history. This character from Latin America would be one of the members of a couple inspired by Bonnie and Clyde. You can find them in the streets of miamithe new playground of the franchise for this new opus, again information revealed by Bloomberg journalists.
Grand Theft Auto’s single-player story is always about wacky characters caught up in impossible scenarios with a cartoonish touch of American Dream. It’s also men, lots of men, nice and less nice, Franklin, Trevor, Carl, Michael… All the protagonists of the series have always been male. It is now history with GTA 6, since Jason Schreier told us that the next main character of the game would be a woman, of Latin origin and from a couple inspired by Bonny and Clyde.
Once again thanks to the Bloomberg article, we were able to discover the place where the action of GTA 6 will be held. It is in Miami that we will find the Rockstar franchise in this next opus. The game marks its return to Vice City, information that confirms the rumors that have been circulating about the game since last year. Miami will be the main city of the game, it will then be followed by various other locations added over the course of the game’s existence. This could indicate the intention to make GTA 6 a game service, with evolving content and paying throughout its existence. Information that remains to be confirmed.
Rockstar spoke, and Twitter ignited. Through a blog note dedicated to the future of GTA Online and relayed by several journalists including @Nibel on the platform of the little blue bird, the studio has confirmed that GTA sixth of the name is in development. A news which, without surprising the majority of the world of gaming, was greeted with jubilation since it is the first time that the company officially confirms the arrival of this monster of gaming. Taking a closer look at the lines above, Rockstar confirms that “active development of the next entry in the Gran Theft Auto franchise is well underway.” and that the studio “[est] looking forward to sharing more news on this when [il] will be ready.“Crucial information, which remains very meager with regard to a possible exit window.
This is the news that has ignited the web for a few months. Jez Corden, respected editor of Windows Central discussed a possible takeover of Take Two Interactive, the mega-studio behind 2K Games and Rockstar Games by Microsoft. The computer giant’s hunger seems insatiable, as we recall, Microsoft recently acquired the catalog of Zenimax Media, and Bethesda games for 7.5 billion dollars. We can quote Jez Corden:
“A few months ago I heard from two of my trusted industry sources that the next major studio or major publisher to be acquired would be Take Two. But that was a long time ago. At the same time, a distributor like Take-Two would take a long time to acquire. But I don’t know, I don’t have any supporting evidence.”
Be careful however, the journalist himself reminds that this information is not confirmed, and in the case of an acquisition of this size, it is better to take this information with tweezers. Because if Microsoft buys Take-Two, it’s a whole section of the video game industry that would fall under the Xbox umbrella. We are talking about 2K, Red Dead Redemption, Bioshock, Mafia and especially Grand Theft Auto, the most famous and lucrative license in the history of video games. Again, difficult to imagine such a scenario, and also difficult to think that, if this acquisition is confirmed, Microsoft would deprive itself of the huge market that is Playstation players for the biggest licenses of Take Two Interactive.
It’s all Twitter that is in turmoil, and for good reason, Grand Theft Auto is one of the most legendary franchises in the history of video games. As a reminder, GTA 5 recently passed the 140 million copies sold mark since its release in 2013, and is still living its glorious days thanks to a GTA Online multiplayer mode frequently refreshed by numerous additions of content. To say that GTA 6 is expected would be an understatement, only Rockstar remains particularly quiet about it. However, according to Tom Henderson and Jason Schreier, it appears to be scheduled for release in 2024-2025.
In addition, the American firm had to review its development methods due to a recent controversy surrounding its practice of “crunch”. This is a time of intense pressure experienced by the employees of a development studio, usually in order to meet the deadlines imposed by the schedule of a new release. This is also why Rockstar seems to have lowered its ambitions with GTA 6, especially in terms of map size. It’s also partly why we shouldn’t expect a release before 2024-2025. A more flexible schedule which should make it possible to better accommodate the development teams, and to ensure a release only on next-gen consoles. We must also keep in mind that this decision makes sense from a marketing point of view. Today the console market is in transition between two generations, and suffers from major supply problems. That’s why waiting for the massive release of new consoles in living rooms around the world before releasing a title like the next Grand Theft Auto seems like a reasonable idea.
Still according to Henderson and Schreier, GTA 6 should take place in a modern world, which contradicts previous rumors about a universe set in the 70s and 80s. Indeed, a contemporary period would correspond more to the ambitions of the online mode, offering many possibilities for collaboration and partnerships with celebrities or labels, like GTA 5 Online. Another recent news concerns the GTA 6 map. There should be several different locations, including a remastered version of the legendary Vice City. This map would be medium in size and should be “scalable”, being able to change over events and post-launch content additions. We also know that this sixth installment, like its eldest, will include several playable characters, including a woman, a first in the hitherto exclusively male universe of Grand Theft Auto.
Although its release date is relatively distant, it would not be illogical to expect GTA 6 to be released only on next-gen consoles. It is very likely that by 2024, these consoles will be ubiquitous in the market, and therefore that this will be the largest audience possible. It should also be remembered that the technical characteristics of the Playstation 5 and the Xbox Series X | S seem much more suitable for a title as ambitious as the next Grand Theft Auto. As for a release on PC, it is very likely although it could take place one or more years after the release on consoles, if we rely on the model of GTA V.
To conclude this article, it is necessary to remember that for the moment Rockstar remains completely silent about the next Grand Theft Auto. Tom Henderson and Jason Schreier may be extremely reliable sources, but no official announcement has yet come to corroborate their allegations. On the other hand, as we have so often been able to repeat about rumors in the world of video games: there is rarely smoke without fire. We will therefore have to wait a little longer to find out more about GTA 6, and before a possible release by 2025.