The existence of another game in the Grand Theft Auto series being in development is not really a secret as GTA is one of the most popular gaming franchises with their titles breaking sales records after every release especially Grand Theft Auto: Online, which still has a healthy player base and made $500 million alone in 2019-2020 thanks to its frequent updates and content. This has undoubtedly shifted Rockstar’s focus from the single-player aspect to their online component as the story DLC they were working on was scrapped in favour of content for GTA: Online.
Rockstar had introduced Red Dead Online as an extension of Red Dead Redemption 2 even going as far as to release a standalone version of it, hoping for a player base similar to that of GTA: Online and so far their attempts have been quite unsuccessful.
Last year in June they announced Grand Theft Auto V and Online for PS5 and Xbox Series S|X platforms with the PS5 version being free to claim any time during the three months after its launch this year, promising next-gen features and an enhanced experience, while more details are yet to be revealed, this could simply be an appetizer before the main course.
Earlier in October, Rockstar had filed a patent for NPC behaviour which was designed to add realism to the world by improving the traffic system where NPC would understand distances, top speeds, cornering speeds and routes and these actions would “not be limited by hardware or software.”
This A.I may or may not be implemented in the upcoming GTA V port however we can surely expect it to be a part of Rockstar’s next game. They are currently hiring for a Performance Director which could indicate that development is moving forward and that they might be working on the story campaign and its cutscenes.
The listing states that “Rockstar Games is seeking a Performance Director to direct narrative ventures at our NYC offices. This position will be responsible for directing live actors for motion capture and video projects.” But once again this could be for unrelated projects as Rockstar is known for hiring for various other studios and they currently have a wide variety of positions open.
They were reportedly working on a sequel to Bully which was scrapped after issues related to development which could be the reason as to why we haven’t heard anything else related to their future titles. Given how Rockstar’s latest title, Red Dead Redemption 2 was under development for 8 years, they surely took their time to craft an immersive and beautiful world full of details.
The same can be said for GTA 6 as Rockstar has been quiet about its existence and would like to make sure that their game is true to their vision and polished before announcing it so it is highly unlikely that we will hear something from them until 2022 at the very least. However, this hasn’t stopped fans from creating fan-art and sharing theories or false rumours surrounding GTA 6’s development, any rumor involving their projects should be taken with a huge grain of salt until proven otherwise.
