GTA 5 has been one of the most successful games ever, and now, the same (or even more) is expected from its successor the GTA 6. It is expected to be different from the previous versions in many ways, and hopefully, it will live up to the massive expectations that have been built up by the previous titles.
One of the most awaited and expected changes in the Grand Theft Auto 6 is the debut of a female protagonist rather than the usual all strong male heros over the past five titles, be it trio Franklin, Trevor and Michael from GTA 5, Carl “CJ” Johnson from GTA San Andreas or Niko from GTA 4.
Rockstar hasn’t introduced any strong female supporting characters since Catalina in GTA 3. Also, the developer has been criticized for a sexist attitude towards the female characters, thanks to the strip clubs and prostitutes in its games. So, it’s about time that Rockstar changes course by showing the world how well it can incorporate a strong female character. And, there is no better way to answer the naysayers by introducing a female lead in the GTA 6.
Further, there have been rumors that Vice City would be back in the GTA 6. The idea is definitely appealing. The GTA series has been running for the past 21 years, and getting back to where it all started is not a bad idea with some cosmetic changes and different environment. With Vice City back in the game, GTA would also get to turn around the entire franchise, offering a new series and more appeal to the current generation.
According to a report from The Know, Rockstar has internally set the release target for GTA 6 some “3-4 years” away implying that the game would not be out until 2021/22. Going by the trend, Rockstar has struggled to match its initial release target. The most recent one was the delay in the Red Dead Redemption 2, which was postponed twice from its initial release date.
It seems that GTA 6 will release after the new consoles from Sony and Microsoft. Rockstar’s strategy of timing the release of GTA 5 with that of the consoles has been a positive for the sales number. The game was initially released on the Xbox 360 and PS3, which were towards the end of their life cycles, and later got ported to PC, PS4 and Xbox One. However, if GTA 6 wants to attain the same glory, the potential release date of 2021 and 2022 might be too late. Rockstar should consider the release sooner as the new consoles from Sony and Microsoft are expected in 2019 or 2020.
Separately, Rockstar Games is removing a host of songs from GTA 4, which will soon reach their license expiration date. As the game completes its ten years, a number of tracks from the Russian radio station Vladivostok FM would be removed.
One of the Rockstar representatives told Kotaku earlier that due “to music licensing restrictions, we are required to remove certain songs from the in-game soundtrack of Grand Theft Auto IV and its Episodes, in particular a large portion of the Russian pop station, Vladivostok FM.”
Considering that the game’s main character Niko Bellic is a Russian, the expired songs would be replaced by new Russian tracks. However, the iconic songs like Glukoza’s “Schweine” and Ruslana’s “Wild Dances” will be missed for sure. Other tracks that will be axed include: The Smashing Pumpkins “1979,” David Bowie’s “Fascination,” and Stevie Nicks’ “Edge of Seventeen.”
Despite the replacements, the FM station is not going to be the same again. Several GTA forums have been listing the songs that would be removed and the ones replacing them by digging out the information from the code.
Also, there is no escape from the GTA 4 update, which will scrap the iconic songs. Although some players suggest keeping the Steam in offline mode until the backup files are created, the method is still to be put to the test. However, some of the posters on the GTA Forum reveal that they have been able to save the songs with this method, unless the new files are overwritten.
This is not the first time GTA has removed content from a title. The PC version of GTA: Vice City temporarily disappeared because of the disagreement with the Michael Jackson license, while in the GTA: San Andreas a patch was released for the PC that removed the songs. Both the removals occurred nearly ten years after the release of the games and did not end well with the players, who opposed the changes. In the San Andreas one, players were not even told beforehand, so most of them downloaded the update without even realizing that the content would be removed from the game.
