Rockstar is about to turn its attention to the biggest video game series in the world, with GTA 6 is due for release in the next few years. The franchise has become a multi-billion dollar title for Rockstar, and naturally the studio will want to release something of incredible quality when the next generation title hits the stores.
With this in mind, the video games industry is already speculating what we can expect from GTA 6, and there have already been some eye-catching suggestions.
GTA 6 Rumors: Release date
The first, and perhaps most important, thing to note is that recent murmurings have suggested that the release date of GTA 6 could be pushed back. Major resignations at Rockstar have apparently precipitated this, while the studio also has a Red Dead Redemption sequel to work on, and wishes to ensure that GTA 6 is of absolutely premium quality. There is certainly no financial pressure to rush the next GTA release out, particularly as the game has an absolutely guaranteed massive audience. So 2019 has been named as a possible date for the release of this massive video game.
Virtual reality support
Another aspect of GTA 6 which could be contributing to the delay of the product is the fact that Rockstar wishes to include virtual reality support in this next generation title. By the time that 2019 rolls around, it is possible that the PlayStation VR peripheral will have established itself as a mainstream part of the video gaming industry. Already the manufacturer of the other iconic PlayStation title Gran Turismo has announced that it will fully support virtual reality, and it seems that Rockstar is tinkering internally with the idea of having a fully VR compliant GTA 6 as well.
GTA Online
Another extremely important part of GTA 6 will be the online version of the game. This has been hugely successful for Rockstar with GTA 5, and now the video games corporation will wish to ensure that it even expands this experience with the GTA 6 title.
One thing that can be pretty much ruled out with regard to GTA 6 is the idea that Rockstar will go down the road of making the huge selling video game an entirely online title. The single-player experience has always been vital to previous Rockstar titles, not merely the GTA universe, and it seems incredibly unlikely that the corporation would even consider abandoning the single-player title, despite the general trend for this in the video game industry.
This would simply risk alienating players who want to experience a single-player GTA 6, and indeed Rockstar is more likely to attempt to improve the single-player game this time round, after some critics were lukewarm about the previous title in this regard.
However, reports have suggested that Rockstar is considering internally whether it should produce an entirely new GTA online version for GTA 6, or continue support for the existing system. There is no compelling reason that Rockstar needs to abandon support for what is a successful game, and it may indeed be possible for the software house to run into GTA Online environments concurrently. With some reports suggesting that the map included in GTA 6 will be massive and extremely impressive, it would make sense to produce a GTA 6 online experience that goes well beyond the scope of previous titles.
Japan or London
Meanwhile, the rumors that Rockstar could venture outside of the United States with GTA 6 continue to emerge, with both Japan and the United Kingdom named as possible destinations. Tokyo and London would be the obvious settings in these two nations, but this still remains a long shot despite the frequency with which it appears online as a suggestion. The US gun culture which makes sense in the GTA universe would grate somewhat in a Japanese or British setting, and it can thus be almost guaranteed that the game will remain one based in the United States.
United game universe
However, it continues to be suggested that Rockstar may attempt to draw all the strands of previous games together in GTA 6, and create what will be a united game universe. This is something that Marvel has chosen to do recently with its comics, and it is possible that Rockstar could achieve something similar, albeit it would be a massive test for the narrative. But with there having been a lack of downloadable single-player content and spin-off titles with GTA 5, it is generally thought that this unification could make producing such material easier for Rockstar.
Other GTA 6 rumors
Aside from the massive play area, said to be as large as the maps from GTAs 3 through 5 combined, The other two persistent rumors are the inclusion of a female protagonist and the reinstatement of the cops versus crooks side-game that was popular in GTA 4. Both of these would be interesting additions to what is sure to be an absolutely massive title.