Grand Theft Auto 6 is officially slated to drop in Fall 2025 for PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S consoles.

The confirmation came straight from Take-Two Interactive, Rockstar Games’ parent company, during its fiscal year 2024 earnings call. Take-Two’s chief executive officer, Strauss Zelnick himself, doubled down on the Fall 2025 target, stating they feel “highly confident” they’ll deliver the hotly-awaited sequel within that window.

This narrows down the previously announced 2025 launch to just a few months at the end of next year, which is a bit further away than we had hoped. If Rockstar Games can hit that mark, it will culminate in one of the most drawn-out and hype-driven release cycles in gaming history.

To recap how we got here, the madness began in earnest last December when Rockstar released the first official GTA 6 trailer. Clocking in at over 93 million views in just 24 hours, it instantly attained status as the most-viewed game trailer premiere ever on YouTube. As of today, it has amassed an incredible 190 million views and counting.

The two-and-a-half-minute trailer was a tantalizing tease, confirming the return of the franchise’s beloved Vice City setting (a fictionalized version of Miami) and introducing players to the game’s dual protagonists for the first time: Lucia, a female lead for the series, and her male counterpart, Jason.

An army of eager fans are apparently monitoring the official website like hawks 24/7, so even a minor premature site update cannot slip past the community.

This is exactly what happened when Grand Theft Auto 6 was listed on a new page with empty screenshot placeholders.

Quite often we’ve seen a similar pattern repeat – be it with premature social media posts, website updates or telling entries in the Linkedin CVs of current and former employees. Whenever a bit too much is shared, it makes the rounds among the community, then suddenly disappears; all but confirming that it was indeed true. The latest instance of this hit the official Rockstar Games website.

Update: the new page (https://t.co/LdP9mtohyK) was just taken down, but the code with placeholders remains in the database that was made public yesterday.
Additionally, there are mentions of digital purchases (pre-orders).

R* was likely preparing the website and didn’t intend to… pic.twitter.com/T0VxaDnt3o

— GTA 6 Countdown (@GTAVI_Countdown) May 8, 2024

Fans visiting the page noticed a new section when navigating the list of games in the developer’s database of titles. Dedicated to GTA VI, this immediately caught attention as this list is focused on already launched titles. Adding to the interest was the unfinished state of the page, with a section titled “Screens” featuring some empty placeholders that would be highlighted when moused over.

Internet sleuths immediately dived in, trying to learn as much as they could with the ‘inspect‘ function present in most browsers. What we got out of this little slip up is file names and URLs, but no actual images. The best guess based on the unfinished website is that Rockstar is gearing up to release four new GTA 6 screenshots sometime soon.

Rockstar swooped in fairly quickly, locking down the wayward website and setting up redirects so any excited fans wanting to see the strange phenomenon for themselves would be sent to the promotional GTA 6 website with the reveal trailer. However, the code for the site is still discoverable using inspect, and references to digital pre-orders were also found after the fact.

Employees resumed working in offices on April 15 (as confirmed by X user @videotechuk_) in a transition that has apparently proven unpopular.

While fans are mostly looking forward to any information pertaining to the release of GTA 6, Rockstar’s employees have expressed discontent with the discontinuation of remote work arrangements. Statements from the Independent Workers Union of Great Britain suggest that staff were not adequately consulted regarding this decision.

However, Rockstar’s motivation behind this change seems to be rooted in practical considerations. By bringing developers back to the studio, the developer likely hopes to improve collaboration, communication, and overall efficiency as the development of GTA 6 hits the final stages.

The increased security measures could also help protect sensitive information and prevent leaks, much like what happened in the case of the first trailer.

Interestingly, the security implications of the decision had previously sparked debate among Rockstar employees. While some acknowledged the potential benefits of increased physical security and reduced leaks, others argued that in-office work is not a foolproof solution.

YouTuber Andrew Levitt and his filming partner Jacob set out on a weeklong journey through the streets of Miami, painstakingly recreating each iconic scene from the GTA 6 trailer. From the neon-soaked skyline of downtown Miami to the sunny beaches of South Beach, the duo went to great lengths to achieve the authentic feel of the popular trailer.

Levitt even recruited his girlfriend Maria to play the role of Lucia, one of the game’s main protagonists, opposite his own portrayal of her on-screen partner Jason. By all accounts, filming some of the more intimate scenes between the two characters was a bit “cringey,” according to Levitt, but the end result is nothing short of spectacular.

The fan-made trailer is a near-perfect mirror image of Rockstar’s original, capturing everything from the alligator roaming the Walmart parking lot to the shirtless Florida man tending to his garden. Even the iconic robbery scene makes an appearance, with Levitt and his co-star wielding bananas instead of firearms (they also couldn’t kick open the doors because they were pull doors).

Fans online have been unanimous in their praise for the recreation, with many hailing it as a “masterpiece” that rivals the original in quality and attention to detail. The video has quickly gone viral, racking up over 37,000 views on YouTube, and the behind-the-scenes video has amassed over 41,000 views as well.

Unsurprisingly, this isn’t the first time the GTA community has shown its love for the upcoming game. Two months ago, the Hyundai Rally Team created its own live-action interpretation of the GTA 6 trailer, which has garnered over 1.5 million views on YouTube.

With Rockstar remaining tight-lipped about any new information regarding GTA 6, it’s clear that the fanbase is more than willing to fill the void with their own creative endeavors. This latest recreation sets a new bar for fan-made content, and it’s sure to tide over eager GTA fans until the next official reveal from the developer (or the next fan-made live-action recreation of the trailer).

Alongside the most hotly debated topic, the game’s elusive release date, one of the main fixations of fans is the identities of the main cast. Now, new leads point to a candidate for the male protagonist, Jason.

This is coming hot on the heels of Troy Baker confirming that he is not the voice actor bringing Jason, one of the two playable protagonists of GTA 6, to life. That nailed shut the coffin of one of the more prevalent fan theories regarding the actor’s identity, which had gained traction despite Rockstar’s track record of avoiding big-ticket talent.

The latest development stays in line with that track record, which just adds to the plausibility.

Eagle eyed sleuths have found out that Gregory Joseph Connors landed a lead role in an upcoming Rockstar Games production, according to his resume (since removed). Specifically, the entry referred to a title slated for a 2025 release, which lines up with GTA 6 – and nothing else.

Fans had theorized that iconic voice actor Troy Baker could be lending his vocal talents to the game’s mysterious male protagonist, Jason. However, Baker himself shut down those rumors in a recent interview.

“That right there is a lesson in perception,” Baker told The Movie Dweeb. “So, people think and they just automatically assume.” While the single line of dialogue that Jason utters in the trailer does sound reminiscent of Baker’s work on other high-profile game characters like Joel from The Last of Us, the veteran actor insists he is not the one behind the role.

“I want that guy, whoever it is, to get credit for his work, because I’m sure it’s going to be great,” Baker continued. “Those guys pour themselves into those characters, and they deserve all of the credit for their work, not me.”

We’re not surprised by this refreshingly humble take from Baker, who has undoubtedly earned his place among gaming’s most celebrated voice actors. Throughout his illustrious career, he has lent his talents to countless remarkable characters, from Metal Gear Solid‘s Revolver Ocelot to Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor‘s Talion (including its sequel).

However, when it comes to GTA 6‘s Jason, Baker is more than happy to let the actual performer take the spotlight.

The identities of both Jason and the game’s female protagonist, Lucia, remain a mystery for now. Rockstar has yet to officially reveal the voice cast for the eagerly awaited Grand Theft Auto sequel, which is currently slated to launch in 2025.

Rumors have swirled around other potential candidates, including actor Bryan Zampella, but Rockstar is keeping those details tightly under wraps (we see some lessons were learned from the leaked trailer).

Related to this whole case of misplaced identity, Baker reminisced about how apparently Todd Howard had said that ‘I don’t want Troy Baker in our game because he’s in every game.’ – other than unfair to Baker, this is relevant due to Rockstar’s preference for lesser known talent appearing in their titles, so that audiences do not immediately liken the performances to other famous ones.

In the meantime, Baker will be lending his voice to another major pop culture icon, Indiana Jones. He’s been confirmed as the voice of the legendary adventurer in the upcoming Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, set to release later this year. So while he may not be involved with GTA 6, fans can still look forward to getting their fix of Baker’s acclaimed voice work in the near future.

As for GTA 6, the wait continues. With development still ongoing, the 2025 release window could potentially slip, but Rockstar is aiming to deliver its most ambitious open-world masterpiece yet. We’ll keep you updated as more news becomes available.

On April 1, Discord released a video titled “Discord Loot Boxes are here,” clearly intended as an April Fool’s Day joke. What it didn’t anticipate was the video racking up hundreds of millions of views within hours and over one billion in less than a day. Yes, one billion views in just one day! Even the record set by the Grand Theft Auto 6 trailer couldn’t hold a candle to this magnificent prank.

“We were just trying to have a bit of fun and get some laughs out of our users,” said a Discord spokesperson. “We certainly didn’t expect our little prank to blow up quite like this!” The view count skyrocketed so rapidly that it briefly surpassed GTA 6’s record-breaking 93 million views in 24 hours.

However, the Discord team quickly realized something was amiss, acknowledging on Twitter (sigh, X) that it had “done something just a lil silly” and that the view count was the result of an “accidental viewbot.” The only apology any enraged GTA fans were going to get from Discord was “Whoopsie doopsie!”

how about a whoopsie doopsie? does that cover it?

— Discord (@discord) April 2, 2024

According to one insightful Twitter user, @NurM4rvin, Discord managed to create a working YouTube viewbot, accidentally playing the loot box trailer on a loop in the background of the in-app toast. This temporary inflation of the view count was swiftly corrected, returning the 24-hour debut record to Rockstar Games and its blockbuster GTA 6 trailer.

While the loot box announcement was indeed an April Fool’s joke, the virtual treasure troves are actually a real feature in Discord, at least for the time being. Users can open them and collect various rewards, including a limited-time clown avatar badge for collecting all nine items – luckily, real money is not involved in the process.

As the dust settles on Discord’s unintentional viewership frenzy, Rockstar Games continues to gear up for the eagerly awaited release of GTA 6, which is still expected to arrive next year. Before then, newcomers can complete GTA 5 for the ‘nth time and dive into GTA Online, which should be a little less traumatic with its new community guidelines to help ensure a fair, respectful, and safe environment for all players.

According to Rockstar Games, GTA 6 is set for a 2025 release. However, the way that Take-Two Interactive worded its release window in an earlier earnings report suggests that it could be arriving late in 2025.

A subsequent report then claimed that GTA 6 could be delayed to 2026 as Rockstar’s mandate to bring everyone back to the office may have hurt the game’s development.

Now, one of the most trusted industry insiders is setting things straight.

This week, Take-Two stock plummeted on rumors that Grand Theft Auto VI is behind schedule, which was a little silly. All video games are behind schedule https://t.co/S3IZwlkyRw

— Jason Schreier (@jasonschreier) March 28, 2024

Jason Schreier, one of the earliest proponents of GTA 6‘s 2025 release window, discussed two things in his latest report.

“Video games are always behind schedule and risk getting delayed at anytime” Schreier explained, but as of the moment, he clarified that “there’s no indication that anything significant has changed.”

Schreier added that he was “mostly met with shrugs” when he asked sources how things are going over at Rockstar Games following the effect that the delay rumor had on Take-Two Interactive’s stock price, which dropped by as much as 5.2% following the initial reports.

Al up, this now makes it two credible sources that have denied that Rockstar and Take-Two will delay GTA 6, suggesting that the initial concerns were overblown.

To be fair, Rockstar does tend to push the release dates of its games back multiple times before finally releasing them. Grand Theft Auto 5 and Grand Theft Auto 5 Next-Gen were both delayed at least once publicly. But for now, Rockstar will release GTA 6 in 2025. The only question that remains is when next year it will be released.

For now, Rockstar is keeping fans busy by beefing up its offerings, including a weekly update to GTA Online and adding more games to GTA+.

But since then, there’s been several reports that 2025 might not be achievable. The most recent, in particular, claims that Rockstar is open to delaying GTA 6 to 2026 in an “emergency” situation.

According to Kotaku, Rockstar is internally deliberating a delay for GTA 6 as a result of its recent return-to-office mandate and the implications for staff members that work remotely.

Rockstar instituted a return-to-office policy in February. At the time, many took it as a sign that GTA 6 is in the final stages of development and Rockstar was leaving nothing to chance.

Working remotely puts GTA 6 at a higher risk of security breaches. For at least two years now, Rockstar has dealt with a massive security breach that resulted in early gameplay footage of GTA 6 finding its way on the internet and the release of the game’s trailer ahead of time. It’s understandable then why Rockstar is playing cautious ahead of the game’s release.

However, as has been pointed out by many commentators, Kotaku’s report is an attempt to “stir the pot” based on the earlier report by Bloomberg about Rockstar’s return-to-office policy.

If you read the earlier report by Jason Schreier, Rockstar explained the rationale behind the new policy, saying that it helps put the studio “in the best position to deliver the next Grand Theft Auto at the level of quality and polish we know it requires.”

Curiously enough, Take-Two Interactive CEO Strauss Zelnick made a similar statement in the company’s latest earnings report, saying that it’s currently seeking “perfection.”.

Despite introducing features like “PlayStation Spectral Super Resolution”, experts at Digital Foundry have advised keeping expectations about the console’s performance in GTA 6 in check.

According to an in-depth analysis by the company’s founder, Rich Leadbetter, the PS5 Pro comes with a similar CPU to the base PS5 model, albeit with an enhancement that allows for a 10% performance boost. This suggests that, for today’s games that are currently targeting 30fps because of CPU performance limitations, achieving 60fps on the PS5 Pro may not happen.

Despite the PS5 Pro’s enhanced GPU power, which stands at up to 33.5 teraflops (three times higher compared to the PS5’s 10.28 teraflops) the similarity in CPU specs between the two consoles indicates that achieving a higher frame rate for CPU-limited games is difficult, if not impossible, absent of specific optimization efforts from developers like Rockstar.

Nevertheless, the PS5 Pro should still be capable of offering a superior experience with its improved rendering capabilities, enhanced ray tracing, and the potential to upscale games to 4K resolution using Sony’s proprietary upscaling technology.

This combination of features could result in a visually superior experience for GTA 6 on the PS5 Pro compared to the base PS5, even with minimal frame rate improvements. Additionally, the PS5 Pro’s increased system RAM may offer developers more flexibility in game design and performance optimization, further enhancing the overall gaming experience.

Furthermore, while achieving 60fps is ideal, a stable 30fps can still provide a satisfactory gaming experience, particularly if it means Rockstar won’t have to compromise game mechanics, physics, and graphical fidelity. Most would prefer to play GTA 6 at 30fps so long as it allows Rockstar to preserve its ambitious scope and avoid sacrificing key gameplay elements, all for the pursuit of higher frame rates.

It can be argued that a game like GTA 6 doesn’t need to be played at higher frame rates to be enjoyed. As long as it can run at 30fps smoothly with virtually zero dips in frame rates, most would prefer to enjoy it on PS5 Pro.

Unfortunately, while all of this talk is exciting, it won’t make GTA 6 come out any sooner.

As per Take-Two Interactive, Rockstar is taking its time perfecting the game and this may result in a slight delay. But the fact that Rockstar is calling all employees to hunker down inside the offices for the foreseeable future does suggest that the game is in its final stages of development.