Grand Theft Auto VI might not launch until 2025, rumors say

The next Grand Theft Auto game might be further off than we previously thought, according to recent corroborated rumors.

Battlefield leaker Tom Henderson recently posted a video that laid out the most recent rumors he heard in regards to Grand Theft Auto VI. In the video, Henderson states that the next game in the series might not launch until 2024 or 2025. The game was initially thought to launch in 2023 due to a Take-Two SEC filing that showed a significant spike in marketing spend for FY2024, which takes place from April 1st, 2023, to March 31st, 2024.

One of the main reasons for the delay, according to Henderson, is Rockstar’s reported efforts to shift away from crunch culture for its employees as well as issues caused by living through a global pandemic. However, the continued success of Grand Theft Auto Online and the impending Xbox Series X/S and PlayStation 5 ports of Grand Theft Auto V probably make it more financially viable to push back the next game, too.

Henderson also claims that the game will return the series to Vice City, but it will be set during modern times. There will be multiple protagonists like with Grand Theft Auto V, and one of those protagonists will be a woman for the first time in the series’ history.

While Grand Theft Auto VI will return to Vice City, the map will also evolve over time, not unlike Fortnite‘s map, Henderson says. However, it’s unclear if the map will change for the game’s single-player campaign, or if Henderson is strictly referring to the game’s inevitable online component.

Henderson stated that he wasn’t able to confirm these rumors as much as he would have liked, but journalist Jason Schreier and VGC both individually corroborated what Henderson said, stating that they’ve heard similar details from their sources. Schreier even previously reported on an evolving map for the next Grand Theft Auto game.

Another possible reason for Grand Theft Auto VI falling behind schedule is that Rockstar co-founder Dan Houser, who is known as the main creative force behind modern Rockstar titles, left the company in March 2020. Houser recently filed papers to start his own company.