It’s been over 10 years since Rockstar games released the much-loved car-stealing action adventure game GTA V. While there have been several releases of the popular Grand Theft Auto title on different console generations, Los Santos is starting to look dated, and the game everyone’s really waiting for is GTA 6.
While long-held rumours suggest that GTA 6 has been in development since 2014, Rockstar Games only acknowledged its existence for the first time in early 2022 when it stated on its website that the game was in “active development”. After almost two years, we finally got a first-look trailer on 4 December, coinciding with Rockstar Games’ 25th anniversary.
The trailer took us back to a modern sun-soaked Vice City and introduced us to protagonist Lucia and her currently unnamed partner. Soundtracked to Tom Petty’s Love Is a Long Road, the GTA 6 trailer is filled with neon lights, speed boats, jumbo jets, pool parties, strip clubs, flamingoes and short TikTok-inspired vertical footage, leaving fans more excited
But while the trailer gave GTA 6 a 2025 release window, new leaks and reports are putting that timeframe into doubt. So, what do we know about GTA 6? When could the game be released? And how much could it cost? We’ve got all the details about the upcoming instalment in the franchise.
‘GTA 6’ release date and trailer: When could the game launch?
Grand Theft Auto 6 Official Trailer
A firm release date for GTA 6 has not yet been announced, but the first-look trailer has finally given fans a release window, albeit a disappointing one.
At the end of the 90-second teaser, when the titles flash up on the screen, underneath in bold white letters are the words “Coming 2025”.
Can we speculate any further? It’s worth looking at the release schedule for Rockstar’s most recent game, Red Dead Redemption 2, for more release date clues. Red Dead Redemption 2’s first teaser trailer was released in October 2016, and the company said that the game would be released in the second half of 2017.
It was then pushed back twice, first to early 2018, before finally being given an official release date of 26 October 2018 – almost two years after the teaser trailer dropped. If the next Grand Theft Auto game follows the same release strategy, and Rockstar has this time accounted for the delays faced by Red Dead, we could see GTA 6 launch in the first quarter of 2025, and hopefully no later.
However, a new report published by Kotaku in March 2024 revealed that insiders at Rockstar believe the game will be pushed back to late 2025 or even early 2026. In February, Rockstar mandated that its workers return to the office five days a week. Kotaku says that while security and quality were reportedly the main reasons, the publication was told by its sources that development on GTA 6 had started “falling behind,” with its sources stating that the leadership at Rockstar were nervous about the game missing its 2025 window.
‘GTA 6’ location: Where is Vice City?
In September 2022, a hacker leaked 90 videos and screenshots of GTA 6. The footage and screenshots were described as early development, but it all but confirmed that the game would be taking place in Vice City. This was then officially confirmed in the first-look trailer.
Vice City is heavily based on the coastal city of Miami. In the trailer, we see news packages and road signs featuring location names, suggesting that the Vice City map is going to be significantly bigger than the original 2002 game. Reddit users have already been mocking up maps of vice City based on the leak.
The trailer gives us confirmation that Leonida is the state that Vice City is based in, with one social media post stating that “only in Leonida is a crotch grab an apology for bad driving”. Other road signs read VCI Airport, Catalan Boulevard, Kelly County, Vice Beaches and Port VC/Keys.
‘GTA 6’ story and characters: Who will be the main protagonists in the new game?
Like GTA V, the latest title will feature more than one protagonist. The 2022 leak introduced us to GTA 6’s new protagonists, with much of the footage showing a Latin American woman called Lucia and a man named Jason.
The latest game is rumoured to be based on the real-life criminals Bonnie and Clyde, according to someone familiar with the game’s development. We got a better look at Lucia in the first-look trailer. In the opening shot, she’s seen wearing a prison uniform talking to, we assume, a parole officer. The man, however, is not named.
GTA V nwas the first in the series to introduce three playable protagonists, Michael, Trevor and Franklin, and the upcoming game is expected to follow a similar pattern, with players able to swap between characters in between missions.
How much is ‘GTA 6’ going to cost?
It’s not often you see discourse online about the price of a game years before its release, but with leakers and insiders suggesting that the game has a budget of $1bn to $2bn, fans are speculating that the game could be more expensive as a result. The leading rumour suggests that the game will cost $150 (£120).
We think this is highly unlikely, however. Most AAA games start from about £69.99, with deluxe editions costing up to £100. We wouldn’t expect this to change, even if the budget was in the $1bn ballpark.
What console will ‘GTA 6’ be on and is ‘GTA 6’ cross-platform?
Right now, the only confirmed GTA 6 platforms are the PS5 and the Xbox Series X. Rockstar Games hasn’t revealed any more information about a PC, PS4 or Xbox One release.
Both the PS5 and Xbox Series X will be five years old by the time GTA 6 is released, so it’s not a certainty that the older consoles will be supported. Rockstar hasn’t outlined whether it will support cross-platform play either.
