Grand Theft Auto 6 is one of Rockstar's most anticipated titles, but even though the last game was released all the way back in 2013, fans still don't have any confirmation that the studio is even working on the next chapter in its flagship franchise. Many agree that it's in the works, but until Rockstar says as much itself, anything can really happen. Despite that, multiple rumors have been circulating that have been addressed by supposed leakers, industry insiders, and even the performers who have brought some of the last game's most memorable characters to life.
Grand Theft Auto 6 is at risk of becoming the next Half-Life 3, a game that Valve fans have been waiting for for years. Rumors about both games are constantly circulating despite little evidence that either is coming out any time soon. In both cases, many of the rumors, even coming from sources that have been reliable in the past, contradict one another. Based on some of the comments made by Rockstar developers in the past, the game may also be like Half-Life 3 from the studio's perspective, as well as the current fan "reception."
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Rumors about Grand Theft Auto 6 have been circulating for years. There have been "leaks" claiming that the game will be set in Vice City, with one Redditor claiming that Rockstar scouts were in Miami to collect references for in-game art assets. There have even been rumors that the next game will take place in Vice City and across parts of South America as part of something called "Project Americas," though with no confirmation from Rockstar it's difficult to judge the validity of this claim.
Other unconfirmed rumors include Grand Theft Auto 6 having a female protagonist, and potentially multiple protagonists as in GTA 5. Others have suggested it was further along in development than many would think, while others claim it is not. Many of these sources have been reputable in the past, making some of the contradictions between their claims even more confusing for fans of the franchise.
Even the voice actors behind Grand Theft Auto 5's three main characters have had their say and have contradicted one another at times as well. Franklin's voice actor Shawn Fonteno commented on some of the rumors last year, saying "they say GTA 6 is gonna be made in Vice City. How do all these people get their information...Do not believe anything that you see on the internet. If you hear it from Rockstar, then you know." Michael's voice actor Ned Luke has made similar comments, dismissing rumors on YouTube. On the other hand, Trevor's voice actor Steven Ogg has made comments suggesting that GTA 6 might be coming "soon" claiming that because Rockstar's titles take "7 to 8 years to make" fans can "do the math."
There was even a recent leak suggesting that a remaster of the original Red Dead Redemption might be coming out before the next Grand Theft Auto, but that GTA 6 was still being developed. However, this leak also gave an extremely specific release window that seems far too detailed for an estimate this far from the game's launch, especially with so many hotly anticipated triple-A titles pushing back their release windows over the past year.
Some fans have even speculated that the strangely out-of-place Guarma chapter in Red Dead Redemption 2 was in fact an excuse to create some of the assets which might be used in GTA 6 in advance. However, some of the flora was then used in GTA Online's Cayo Perico, so once again, it remains entirely possible that these rumors are missing the mark.
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For years, Valve fans have experienced similar uncertainty and contradictory claims, and to this very day, some think that Half-Life 3 may be more likely to get made now following the successful release of Half-Life: Alyx in 2016. With so many years of speculation behind them, however, many fans have long given up hope that Gordon Freeman's story will ever get a third chapter, and have become extremely wary of leaks from reputable and untested sources alike.
GTA 6 doesn't just have similarities to Half-Life 3 from the perspective of its studio's hopeful fans, however. There is evidence to suggest that both Valve and Rockstar may have a similar reluctance to release their most hotly anticipated titles. Gabe Newell himself has said that the studio doesn't want to just "crank Half-Life titles out" to "make the quarterly numbers," suggesting a degree of internal resistance to developing Half-Life 3.
Similarly, Rockstar co-founder Dan Houser, who left the studio last year, has spoken in the past about in-house anxieties about attempting to pull off Grand Theft Auto's trademark brand of in-your-face satire in a political climate that's drastically different to the one that existed when the last game was released. Unfortunately for the fans of the franchise, they're likely to be stuck in limbo for a while longer, with Rockstar neither confirming nor ruling out the development of a new Grand Theft Auto.
Grand Theft Auto 6 is rumored to be in development.
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