There is a rumor floating around the internet that Grand Theft Auto (GTA VI) could be released in 2018.
Sticking to the five-year cycle
In between GTA IV and GTA V, there was a five year waiting period. That seems to be the whole basis of this rumor. If GTA IV was 2008, and GTA V was 2013, then it follows that GTA VI must be 2018 right? Hmmm.
Sounds like a like a child completing a ‘what’s the next number in the sequence puzzle.
Unfortunately, it doesn’t always work out like that, ask any fan of G. R. R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire series. I would say, that like the disclaimer on any advertisement about making an investment, ‘past performance is not necessarily indicative of future results.’
Also, there is a cherry picking issue. Sure, V was the last version, so people have naturally looked at that time difference, but GTA III was released in 2001, and if my elementary math is what it once was after years of abuse, that means the gap between that and GTA IV was seven years.
Seven years, that would put the schedule for the latest game back to 2020. Although we should note in that seven-year period, there was GTA: Vice City and GTA: San Andreas.
Back when it was a two dimensional world, new versions were released every two years, but as we are already at three years since the last version, we can let that one go…
My prediction is that it will be ready when it is ready. If Rockstar (the producers and distributors) need more time, they need more time. Following the huge commercial and critical success of GTA V, they won’t want to release a dud which could taint a legacy.
GTA VI release date
Also, a lot of these big releases are coincided with other events. When a new console is launching, the developers love to overlap this with the release of a popular new game. GTA certainly fits that bill, and both Sony and Microsoft are rumored to be releasing a new console around then.
Some form of tie-in would make perfect sense, as both would benefit from the others success and publicity. Sony have the PS5 and Microsoft have the Xbox 2, both of which are expected to be available somewhere between late 2017 and 2019. We will see, but there is plenty of smart money going on a dual, console and game, launch.
Other rumors
The release date is not the only area for speculation regarding GTA 6. There is a suggestion that a playable character this time might be a woman, (GTA V featured three different playable characters, all men).
There have been reports that the woman could be voiced by Hollywood celebrity Eva Mendes. This would not be the first time Hollywood has lent its voice to the game, as we heard Ray Liotta in the ‘Vice City’ version of the game.
In what we can assume makes for interesting pillow-talk, it is also speculated that Mendes’ real life boyfriend Ryan Gosling will also be voicing (one of?) the male protagonists.
Other rumors focus on the location of the game. There have been recent suggestions that the game could be based in London, as was reported here earlier this week. London was the setting for two very early versions of the game back in 1999 and most of the people that actually design and make the game are British.
New cars are always added so this is not really speculation, but it is expected that there will be able to do new stunts. For a game that has driving as a very central theme (even the name GTA refers to stealing cars) the actual game play of driving has always been more about fun than realism.
I don’t disagree with that philosophy but think that the grey area is big enough to make the driving aspect a little more realistic without losing the fun we have come to know and love.
So, we can expect the game to be released in 2018 and to feature Eva Mendes voicing our female protagonist as she races round the mean streets of London.
Maybe, maybe not. Until we hear anything official it is all speculation and must be taken with the proverbial grain of salt.
Grand Theft Auto Series
GTA is a controversial action-adventure game, set in various fictional cities. The game was first released in 1997 and is primarily developed by the British team, Rockstar North, and distributed by Rockstar Games. Complaints of violence, nudity and sexism have increased its notoriety, (and also probably helped its sales). It has been ranked as one of Britain’s most successful exports.
