There aren’t many studios in the video game industry that can create as much anticipation as Rockstar Games. The company released several hit titles like Bully and Red Dead Redemption, which have sold millions of copies worldwide.
None have been as commercially successful or as critically acclaimed than Grand Theft Auto, however, so the anticipation that builds ahead of the release of the latest title is huge. With seven years elapsing since GTA V hit shelves, fans are eagerly awaiting GTA 6 to go on sale.
With few details to go on, rumour mills have been operating at full speed, creating speculation about what fans can expect from the next game. Here’s what we know (and what we think we know) about the next release.
Location
Except for the London expansion pack, all of the GTA games have been set in five cities: Las Venturas, Los Santos, San Fierro, Vice City, and Liberty City. Some believe this may change in GTA 6, with the game being codenamed “Project Americas”.
The most credible rumours are that the game will see a return to Vice City, but with a second city that’s based on Rio de Janeiro, also available for exploration. This would be the first time a non-English-speaking city will feature in the game.
Another rumour has suggested the game will start in Liberty City but see the player move to other cities.
Mini-Games
Mini-games and side missions have always been a big part of Grand Theft Auto games. Over the years, we’ve had RC racing, photography, rampages, street racing, and taxi driving to do alongside the main storyline missions.
There’s no doubt that GTA 6 will be packed with mini-games too, but we don’t know what they will be yet.
The vigilante missions were removed in GTA V and many fans would like to see these return, while the GTA Online Diamond Casino has proved very popular despite only containing gaming sessions against the house. Some fans would like to see the introduction of poker where you could compete against other players like in real online poker sites, but this is probably wishful thinking. Activities like investing in the stock market are also likely to be retained but we have no official confirmation of this yet.
Playable Characters
Rockstar’s plans for this are currently unclear. Some people suggest that the multi-protagonist feature seen in GTA V will stay, but with four characters instead of three.
Others believe that this will be removed for the latest release, returning to a single playable character.
Time
The latest two games have been set in the present, while San Andreas depicted the early 1990s and Vice City showed us the glory of the 1980s.
Conflicting rumours for when GTA 6 will be set are all over the internet. Some suggest a return to the 1980s, while others have suggested more complicated time dynamics.
For example, one rumour is that the game will span four separate decades: the 60s, 70s, 80s, and 90s. This seems a little unlikely though since it would require the creation of four different cities, sets of cars, and clothing for characters.
Another theory is that part of the game’s story will be set in a prison. This too seems a little unlikely, as it would remove the open-world element of the game.