Fans have been eagerly awaiting news about Grand Theft Auto 6 from Rockstar to no avail. The studio has kept its cards close to its chest, and some fans fear that they may still have a long wait ahead of them.
The voice actors for GTA 5’s three main characters, however, have been really vocal about the development of the upcoming game. Although each differ, they have given several hints about when fans can expect the next game to release and what news they should believe about Grand Theft Auto 6.
Voice Actor Comments
Voice actor Ned Luke, who played Michael De Santa in Grand Theft Auto 5, came out strongly against what he called “clickbait” rumors about Grand Theft Auto 6 early in 2020, particularly from YouTubers who had been releasing supposed leaks about the next title in the series.
“They say GTA 6 is gonna be made in Vice City. How do all these people get all this information on what’s gonna be what?” he said in a conversation with Shawn Fonteno, the voice actor for Franklin Clinton. “Do not believe anything that you see on the internet,” he continued, “if you hear it from Rockstar, then you know.”
Shawn Fonteno later spoke out this month to ask Grand Theft Auto fans to not “knock Rockstar down” for the lack of news regarding the sequel. “Talking about 'ya’ll milking GTA 5' and 'when is 6 gonna come out?' Ya’ll gotta understand, it’s a process to put these games out man.”
The comments came after some fans’ fears were confirmed that Rockstar was likely focusing on releasing new content for GTA Online for the next generation of consoles instead of releasing GTA 6, at least for now. Fonteno continued, “they just can’t throw anything out. Y’all wouldn’t accept it if they threw GTA 6 out right now,” and judging by the fact that GTA 5 took nearly 5 years to develop, many fans will agree with him.
Back in 2019, however, Steven Ogg, Trevor’s voice actor in GTA 5, hinted that fans should “do the math” and that GTA 6 would be releasing “soon” because Rockstar games take “7 to 8 years to make.” However, the lack of news from Rockstar since Ogg made his claim seems to suggest that fans may be in for a longer wait for GTA 6 than previous titles for a few key reasons. At the very least, it suggests the relative subjectiveness of "soon."
The Future of GTA
Grand Theft Auto 5 could be a victim of its own success. It seems likely that GTA 6 is still a long ways off as not only is the last game still a strong seller with a sizable community for GTA Online, but the re-release for the PS5 and Xbox Series X could see a boost in sales again.
Not only that, but studio co-founder Dan Houser, who has since left Rockstar, has talked about the difficulty of creating Grand Theft Auto 6 in today’s political climate. In short, it would be hard to satire much without it becoming quickly irrelevant, which makes sense. Nonetheless, most reports indicate that it is in development, so something is likely happening behind the curtains.
The future of Grand Theft Auto 6 remains unclear. Rockstar will need to figure out how to satirize the moment in a way that is, simply put, fun, and for many fans that will not be an easy job right now. If any team is up to the task, however, it’s likely Rockstar, and many fans will still be eagerly awaiting news from the developer in the months to come.
Grand Theft Auto 6 is reportedly in development.