Rockstar Games team break silence on Grand Theft Auto VI delays for PS5 and Xbox

Responding to the rumours started by the GTABase staff writer, Jason Schreier posted on X: "The internet (and my DMs) blew up this weekend over a rumor that GTA VI is delayed.

"Good news is that six Rockstar employees all told me they have not heard of any delay. Bad news: it's a big, ambitious game and could very well slip! Too much time left to say anything definitive.

"I want to be very clear: Six staff told me they weren't *informed* of a delay. For all I know, Rockstar's executive team could have decided months ago to delay GTA VI without telling the company. But the lack of internal announcement suggests that the Twitter rumor was nonsense."

Of course, it's worth taking the denial of any release date delay with a pinch of salt as nothing is confirmed until a spokesperson from Rockstar Games or parent company Take-Two Interactive repeats it publicly.

I want to be very clear: Six staff told me they weren't *informed* of a delay. For all I know, Rockstar's executive team could have decided months ago to delay GTA VI without telling the company. But the lack of internal announcement suggests that the Twitter rumor was nonsense

— Jason Schreier (@jasonschreier) September 9, 2024

However, Schreier has an impeccable track record when it comes to reporting on Grand Theft Auto, and given that six separate employees working on the game know nothing about a postponed launch window, it seems unlikely that Take-Two Interactive has changed its release plans ...yet.

It's worth noting that Schreier himself has previously speculated that a GTA 6 release date delay is extremely likely. Almost every Rockstar Games title has been pushed back at least once, and we still haven't seen a single frame of in-game footage from Grand Theft Auto VI, with only a cinematic trailer to speculate on.

The latest whispers around the Grand Theft Auto VI follow speculation that its price tag could have ramifications for the entire industry. At least that's according to a respected developer, who believes Rockstar Games could increase the price tag of its next game to recoup its rumoured budget of $1 billion.

With such a long gap between entries in the Grand Theft Auto series — 11 years and counting — some believe it could cost between $100-$150 (£75-£114) for a single copy of the game, which will release on Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, PlayStation 5, and all-new PS5 Pro. This price hike was first reported by blog Niche Gamer.

However, seasoned developer Michael Douse has weighed-in on the debate, suggesting that Rockstar Games could be the first to establish a new baseline. Posting on X, formerly Twitter, Mr Douse, who most recently worked on the critically-acclaimed Balder's Gate 3, notes that current price tags do not reflect the amount of time and resources that it takes to create a blockbuster game for the latest crop of consoles.

The incoming Grand Theft Auto VI will launch exclusively on current-generation consoles — leaving millions of PlayStation owners unable to enjoy the feverishly-anticipated new game. That means you'll need a Sony PS5, PS5 Digital Edition, Xbox Series X, or Xbox Series S. Sadly, it doesn't seem that a Fire TV Stick 4K will cut it.

According to Mr Douse, most developers artificially increase the cost of video games with bundles that include subscription packages and additional content scheduled to be rolled-out in the months after launch day. He states: "I don’t love the artificiality of pricing structures post retail. Use the inflated base price to upsell a subscription, and use vague content promises to inflate ultimate editions to make the base price look better. It all seems a bit dangerous & disconnected from the community.

I think a game should be priced accordingly with its quality, breadth & depth. I’m not against higher prices, but this arbitrary uniformity just doesn’t make sense to me. It feels so unserious.

— Very AFK (@Cromwelp) August 26, 2024

Almost all games should cost more at a base level because the cost of making them (inflation, for one) is outpacing pricing trends. But I don’t think we’ll get there with DLC promises so much as quality & communication. Everyone’s just waiting for GTA6 to do it lol.

— Very AFK (@Cromwelp) August 26, 2024

"I think a game should be priced accordingly with its quality, breadth & depth. I’m not against higher prices, but this arbitrary uniformity just doesn’t make sense to me. It feels so unserious."

The Balder's Gate 3 developer shared a screenshot of the newly-launched Star Wars: Outlaws, which is priced at €129.99 and includes the game, early access 72-hours before release, a Season Pass subscription to access additional online content, a Digital Art booklet, and two bundles of in-game content. Mr Douse argues these bundles are only created by game companies because developers don't feel they can increase the baseline cost of the game without severe criticism.

All Rockstar need to do is launch an “Early Edition” of GTA VI for £100 and millions of consumers in their droves will buy it without a seconds thought, even if the “Standard” version released just a week later.

Wouldn’t be surprised if THIS sets a precedent geared towards FOMO.

— Melee Damage (@meleedamageUK) August 26, 2024

I don't mind paying more for a game but whenever I see a game I'm interested in (especially a solo game) with a season pass, I wait for all the DLCs to be out and buy the whole package when on sale. Games are competing for my attention, so I won't invest in empty promises.

— Dr.Camille - The Boar Slayer (@DrCamilleYT) August 27, 2024

If video game prices had kept up with inflation since 2000 they'd all be over $90.00. I'm sure most modern AAA games cost more to make in real terms than early 2000s games.

— Harmful Algal Bloom (@chrislarlee) August 26, 2024

Sony has set the RRP of PS5 games at £69.99 in the UK, the same as Xbox Series X

"Almost all games should cost more at a base level because the cost of making them (inflation, for one) is outpacing pricing trends. But I don’t think we’ll get there with DLC promises so much as quality & communication. Everyone’s just waiting for GTA6 to do it lol," Mr Douse concludes in his thread on X.

Anticipation for Grand Theft Auto VI — more commonly referred to as GTA 6 — is so high that Rockstar Games could conceivably increase the cost without damaging its sales figures. It would also be an accurate reflection of the amount of time spent working on the next instalment in the Grand Theft Auto series, which entered development back in 2014.

That means Rockstar Games, and parent company Take-Two Interactive, will have spent 11 years toiling on the open-world crime-caper before it recoups any of its investment.

As mentioned above, one of the most persistent rumours swirling around the protracted development of Grand Theft Auto VI is that its total budget has topped $1 billion. Its predecessor, Grand Theft Auto V holds the record as one of the most expensive games ever made, with a budget of $265 million (£212m) during its development between 2008 and 2013.

With the graphical fidelity and scope of modern video games, the amount of time — and money — required to put together follow-up is likely much higher, although crucially, nobody from Rockstar Games or publisher Take-Two has verified the mooted $1 billion.

If Michael Douse is correct, Rockstar Games could sell Grand Theft Auto VI at a higher starting price that more accurately reflects the scale of the project — avoiding the upselling tricks seen by other blockbuster games to increase the price. In doing so, other developers could seen this as permission to increase their prices too.

The rumoured price increase coming to GTA 6 across all console releases comes just a few days after Facebook parent company Meta confirmed plans to freeze development of the first-ever Virtual Reality (VR) entry into the Grand Theft Auto franchise.

Meta, which is worth £1.3 trillion, revealed that it was working with Rockstar Games, the team behind Grand Theft Auto, on a project "many years in the making" back in 2021. The VR title would be an immersive reimagining of GTA: San Andreas, first launched in 2004 on PlayStation 2 and Xbox.

It was originally developed for the Meta Quest 2, but development on this all-new GTA title has dragged on for so long that Meta has since launched an upgraded version of its VR headset, the Meta Quest 3 to compete head-to-head with the Apple Vision Pro.

"GTA: San Andreas is on hold indefinitely while we both focus on other projects," a spokesperson for Meta Quest VR confirmed in a comment under an unrelated YouTube video. "We look forward to working with our friends at Rockstar in the future."

Despite work seemingly taking place on the upgraded new iteration of Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas — the seventh mainline entry into the blockbuster game series — for at least three years, Meta and Rockstar Games never released an official trailer, in-game footage, or poster for the title.

However, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, who very likely tested an early beta version of the game during development, once shared that "this new version" of Grand Theft Auto will "offer players an entirely new way to experience this iconic open world in virtual reality." It's unclear whether we'll ever get the chance to revisit the fictional city of San Andreas in an immersive Virtual Reality (VR) gameplay.

It's interesting that Meta and Rockstar Games have gone out of their way not to label the project as "cancelled," although the fact that it's on hold "indefinitely" doesn't inspire much confidence that it'll launch for VR headset wearers anytime soon.

With nothing else to focus on, Grand Theft Auto fans will be hopeful that Rockstar Games will be able to make its deadline ...despite the radio-silence on any new details about the game. Currently pencilled in for late 2025, GTA 6 is expected to be one of the biggest launches of all-time.

Its predecessor, Grand Theft Auto V, has gone on to become the biggest-selling entertainment product in history, with $6 billion in revenue to its name since its launch over a decade ago. The long wait between instalments in the Grand Theft Auto franchise is an outlier in the industry, with other chart-topping series, like Call of Duty, EA Sports FC, and Pokémon, typically launching new games every year.

Experts believe the next instalment in the Grand Theft Auto franchise could break its own record sales numbers. Its predecessor, Grand Theft Auto V, still holds the crown for the best opening week of sales in video game history — raking in $1.15bn (£1.2bn) in five days. It has gone on to become the second biggest game of all-time, although it's still 100 million copies behind the Gold Medalist, Minecraft.

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Although it's worth noting that Grand Theft Auto V has now appeared on three console generations, starting with the Xbox 360 and Sony PS3 back in September 2013. An upgraded version of the game launched on the latest crop of video game consoles, Xbox Series X|S and Sony PS5, in March 2022 with support for 4K Ultra HD visuals, ray-tracing, 60 frames-per-second, and 3D audio.

The continued popularity of the game is partly attributed to GTA Online.

But many like Dmitri Williams, a video game business expert and professor at University of Southern California, expect the long-awaited follow-up to perform even better.

He said: "The brand is as strong or stronger than it was before, but additionally the game industry is larger. If it maintains the same slice of the pie, it's going to be big, because it will come from a bigger pie.

"The games industry is simply massive globally, and is no single genre or platform. It's so large and so varied that even fractions of it are larger than whole parallel industries like movies.”

The next instalment of the popular Grand Theft Auto series will take gamers back to Vice City, which last appeared in 2006's Vice City Stories. Rockstar Games has already confirmed the franchise will use a female protagonist for the first time since 2000, known as Lucia.

Little is known about the plot of the satirical action-adventure game, but it's widely expected to mirror the misadventures of Bonnie and Clyde across a fictional US State that spoofs on Florida, dubbed Leonida.