It's no secret that blockbuster games take hundreds of development hours and manpower to create. Even then, sheer manpower and effort doesn't necessarily translate into success. It's why project managers like to throw around the concept of Brooks' Law, in that "adding manpower to a late software project makes it later." While that's not always accurate, it rang uncomfortably true for the broken release of Cyberpunk 2077. Every version had its fair share of game-breaking bugs, but the PS4/Xbox One versions had various technical issues and consistent fail states. It's why fans are asking Rockstar Games to "take its time" on developing Grand Theft Auto 6.
However, when Rockstar Games was criticized for its "crunch culture," the developers spent a year making serious changes to its development cycle. Early reports on Rockstar Games' managerial changes, in the wake of that crunch controversy, also described a new development approach to its blockbuster titles. In reference to the development of Grand Theft Auto 6, as reported by Kotaku in 2020, it seems Rockstar Games is implementing a new incremental method to development. Cyberpunk 2077's reception and subsequent backlash could act as a preemptive proof of concept for Rockstar Games shifting its development cycle into this new approach.
Attempting to Avoid Another Troubled Release like Cyberpunk 2077
Fans took to Reddit and other social media sites, in the days and weeks following Cyberpunk 2077's release, echoing sentiments like the above post. The litany of technical and performance issues from CD Projekt Red's highly anticipated RPG has many asking Rockstar Games to bide its time as much as it needs to finish development. To be fair, from a consumer standpoint, that is a more-than-reasonable request to expect a quality product when it's released to the masses. However, the ends don't justify the means, and additional crunch or forced development overtime (circumstantial or otherwise) is not the answer. That's where Rockstar Games' new method comes in.
There used to be a time where fans loathed the stringent silence that Rockstar Games adheres to prior to the reveal of its games. Other than to avoid spoilers or teasing anything before it's ready, in many cases it was due to developers working overtime to meet production deadlines. However, assuming the changes fin approach still remains true, Rockstar Games' new development method should inspire a cautious optimism. Theoretically, releasing Grand Theft Auto 6 "moderately sized" and then consistently updating the game over time like Grand Theft Auto Online could lead to a much more stable game release.
How An Incremental Development Approach Changes Grand Theft Auto 6
Keeping the design ambition in check and working incrementally on a game like Grand Theft Auto 6 can have numerous potential benefits. The most obvious intent of this approach by Rockstar Games would be to reduce development crunch, the high pressure work practice that many triple-A companies still employ liberally. Obviously employee wellness and healthy development schedules are important, but the actual game can benefit from this approach as well. Additional development time on a smaller scale means there's, hypothetically, more time for testing and quality assurance, and performance issues become much easier to find on a smaller scale.
Would this possibly lead to a "smaller" Grand Theft Auto game in comparison? Maybe, at least at first. Incremental content updates would ensure that a truly expansive and ambitious Grand Theft Auto experience would comes in due time. Even Grand Theft Auto 5 has ballooned in size and scope thanks to the incremental updates provided to Grand Theft Auto Online. The theoretical trade-off here would be a much more stable release, not built by excessive employee crunch, that both satisfies the developers as well as the players. Plus, it helps avoid the situation that CD Projekt Red finds itself in currently, with a severe loss of good faith and additional crunch time.
Of course, none of these changes or this development method in general has been confirmed or mentioned by Rockstar Games officially. As mentioned previously, the Grand Theft Auto and Red Dead Redemption developer adheres to a strict silence when working on its next project, only announcing the game once it's very far along. It's a stark contrast to Cyberpunk 2077, which was first shown in 2013 and has been in development for quite some time. The release of Cyberpunk 2077 has undoubtedly hit home for many fans, and has many concerned that the same thing could happen to the next big blockbuster like Grand Theft Auto 6.
Grand Theft Auto 6 is reportedly in development.