GTA 6's Release Date May Be Farther Away Than Previously Thought

GTA 6's release date may be farther away than previously thought. At the moment of publishing, Rockstar Games has not officially announced a new installment in the Grand Theft Auto series, but the other week at the PS5 event it did announce that it's bringing an "enhanced and expanded" version of GTA 5 and GTA Online to PS5 and Xbox Series X in 2021. At the surface level, there doesn't appear to be very much to this. After all, Grand Theft Auto V is still one of the biggest games in the world, and it's one of the best-selling games every single month, without fail. Gamers aren't just buying the game still, they are buying it in huge numbers.

It's not very surprising to see the 2013 game now releasing on its third generation of PlayStation and Xbox consoles. However, it may be telling about how far along GTA 6 is. If the next installment in the Grand Theft Auto series was releasing in 2021, or even 2022, I don't think GTA 5 would be migrating to PS5 and Xbox Series X in such a big way. This isn't just a prettier version of GTA 5 for next-gen consoles, but an "expanded" version. Granted, Rockstar Games hasn't specified what "expanded" means, but would Rockstar Games give GTA 5 another run, let alone another run with additional weight behind it, if the new GTA was on the horizon. Possibly, but I don't think so.

By itself, none of this speculation is worth much, but when you combine it with April's report from Bloomberg's Jason Schreier, which claimed that the game is still in the early stages of development, there's a case to be made.

In the past, rumors, reports, and "leaks" have suggested GTA 6 could release in 2021 or 2022, but it seems increasingly obvious this isn't going to happen. You don't want GTA 5's release on next-gen consoles getting in the way of marketing for GTA 6, which will likely have a two-year marketing build up like both Red Dead Redemption 2 and GTA 5 had. And this is why I don't think we will hear about GTA 6 until 2022 at the earliest, which means the earliest we'll get our hands on the game will be 2024.

As always, feel free to leave a comment letting us know what you think or hit me up on Twitter @Tyler_Fischer_ and let me know over there. When do you think GTA 6 will release?