Grand Theft Auto 6 isn't the next release from Rockstar Games after all, new leak claims

Rockstar Games' Red Dead Redemption 2 first launched in October 2018 and has regularly appeared on Best Of lists since then, with many critics calling it a defining game of that generation of console, which included the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One

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Aaron Brown

By Aaron Brown


Published: 23/08/2024

- 01:41

Could an updated version of Red Dead Redemption beat GTA 6 to store shelves?

  • Trailer with 250,000 views claims Red Dead Redemption 2 relaunch planned
  • It will be upgraded to take advantage of PS5 and Xbox Series X graphics
  • Release scheduled for March 2025, posts on X report
  • That would be roughly 6-8 months before release of GTA 6 next year
  • First trailer for GTA 6 released back in December 2023
  • Since then, Rockstar Games has stayed silent about its upcoming title
  • But parent company Take-Two has confirmed the late 2025 launch

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All eyes are on Grand Theft Auto VI — the next blockbuster instalment in the record-breaking game series from Rockstar Games — ahead of its launch in late 2025, provided whispers of a delay are unfounded. However, it might not be the next title to launch from Rockstar Games.

Yes, that's according to a leaked trailer shared across X, formerly Twitter, and social news site Reddit over the last few days. It claims that Rockstar Games is gearing up to launch Red Dead Redemption 2 on the current generation of consoles: PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X, and Xbox Series S.

The epic western saga, which serves as a prequel to the popular 2010 game Red Dead Redemption, originally launched on the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One in late 2018, followed by a version for Windows PCs one year later. It's possible to play the game on the current crop of consoles via backwards compatibility.

However, Rockstar Games has not optimised Red Dead Redemption 2 to take advantage of the latest hardware, so don't expect native 4K Ultra HD resolution or 120 frames-per-second. Presumably, a re-release of the critically lauded — often cited as one of the best titles from its generation of games consoles — would bolster the graphical fidelity and performance on newer hardware.

"Is Rockstar Games up to something? Taken from a now deleted Reddit post about a PS5 and Xbox Series X version of Red Dead Redemption 2," reads a prominent post on X, which has been viewed over 245,000 times.

cowboys riding on horseback in red dead redemption 2 gameplay

Although the visuals and gameplay in Red Dead Redemption 2 were cutting-edge at the time, the game doesn't take advantage of many of the improvements added to the latest generation of consoles, like the Sony PS5 and Xbox Series X

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The teaser trailer ends with the release date March 2025.

If accurate, that means a revamped Red Dead Redemption 2 would land on consoles before the feverishly-anticipated Grand Theft Auto VI, which is expected ahead of the Christmas shopping rush next year.

Fans of Rockstar Games have flooded X to assess the trailer, with many throwing doubt on the incoming re-release. One commented: "not real but very well made".

"It better be real, I mean it is a no-brainer for @RockstarGames & plus all of us fans want it like yesterday...," another added after watching the 37-second clip of the purported relaunch.

It comes just a few days after Grand Theft Auto VI became the Rockstar Games title with the longest gap between the release of its first trailer and any other update from the studio.

As of August 18, it's now been 257 days since the GTA 6 trailer was published on YouTube to record views ...with no sign of new screenshots, maps, or another trailer with new details on the feverishly-anticipated game. That figure was calculated by Rockstar Games watcher @GTAVI_Countdown on X, formerly known as Twitter. It compared the gaps between the first trailer and new details from the teams at Rockstar Games for the Grand Theft Auto V and Red Dead Redemption 2.

The latter saw Rockstar Games' fans wait 214 days between the initial trailer and an official update from the developers in the form of new screenshots, meanwhile, Grand Theft Auto V had a gap of 253 days for the same content.

The last Grand Theft Auto was the previous record-holder... but now Grand Theft Auto VI has broken the record. And an additional three days have now passed since @GTAVI_Countdown did its initial calculation.

That means PS5 and Xbox fans have been waiting 260 days for any news from Rockstar Games.

animated gif showing a car speeding down the road in the grand theft auto trailer

Little is known about the plot of Grand Theft Auto VI, but the first trailer hints at a Bonnie and Clyde-like story that follows the first female protagonist in the GTA franchise since 2000, known as Lucia and her partner as they rampage across the fictional US state of Leonida

ROCKSTAR GAMES PRESS OFFICE | GBN

The silence from Rockstar Games has fuelled speculation that GTA VI could be delayed — a fear that flared-up in the wake of Hollywood strikes. Parent company Take-Two has confirmed a vague release date for late next year, but sources within Rockstar Games told gaming publication Kotakuthat the transition from remote-working back to the office could be behind setbacks.

Pushing the release of Grand Theft Auto VI into 2026 is being considered as a fallback plan.

Its reporting, published back in March, reads: "As remote workers struggle with an unwanted return-to-office mandate from Rockstar Games, Kotaku has learned from sources with knowledge of the game's development process that GTA 6 could miss its 2025 release window and slip into 2026. The majority of sources were certain that early 2025 is no longer possible.

"Instead, the target is firmly 'Fall 2025' and while most seem confident of hitting that date, I'm still told there is a possibility of a delay, as previously reported."

It comes as Rockstar Games and 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.

While only 50% of PlayStation owners will be able to play Grand Theft Auto VI, the now-paused reworking of San Andreas would be available to an even smaller pool of players. 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."

promotional image for gta 6 shows the two main protagonists sat on the bonnet of a car holding a pistol with palm trees and in the pink background GTA 6, stylised as Grand Theft Auto VI, returns the action to the fictional city of Vice City, which is Rockstar Games' satirical version of Miami that featured in the 2002 GTA release of the same name ROCKSTAR GAMES

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.

Grand Theft Auto 5 pictured on xbox 360 on the shelves at its release dateGrand Theft Auto V first launched 11 years ago on the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. Since then, the popular title has appeared on another two console generations, with an upgraded version of the decade-old video game launching on the latest consoles from Xbox and Sony in early 2022 GETTY IMAGES

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.

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.

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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.”

animated gif showing a car speeding down the road in the grand theft auto trailer

Rockstar Games' parent company Take-Two has narrowed the release window of Grand Theft Auto VI down to late 2025 on PS5 consoles, Xbox Series X, and Xbox Series S, with a hint that a PC version of the game in the works too, most likely to launch the following year ...provided there are no delays

ROCKSTAR GAMES PRESS OFFICE | GBN

Sony is tipped to capitalise on the excitement around the next Rockstar Games title by launching an improved PlayStation 5 console with upgraded graphics and a tweaked case design.

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.

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