Rockstar Games' Grand Theft Auto series has been a critical and commercial success since its very inception. Originally born out of a bug in a game that would be called Race and Chase, the crime-thriller open-world series has transformed into a behemoth capable of steamrolling through the biggest franchises on account of its impact on modern pop culture.

The latest entry in the series Grand Theft Auto 5 is almost 8 years old at this point but shows no signs of slowing down. Next-generation consoles, namely the PS5 and Xbox Series X, are due for upgrades sometime this year, and fans still don't have any solid information about Grand Theft Auto 6. While Rockstar's decision to remain tight-lipped on Grand Theft Auto 6 might sound the best, fans of the franchise are already hard at work speculating the various elements they wish to see in the game. Overall, now, tomorrow, 5 years from now, GTA 6 is being set up with a ton of hype, and it doesn't even formally exist yet.

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Rockstar keeps its secrets close to its chest. However, as fans grow increasingly impatient about the game, such an approach might be detrimental to Grand Theft Auto 6 in the long run.

The Problem With GTA 6

gta 6 red dead redemption 3 development header

Recently, CD Projekt Red released one of the most hotly-anticipated titles of the last decade, Cyberpunk 2077. Hot off the heels of the massively successful Witcher 3, the studio quickly amassed a great fanbase for its next release. CDPR also capitalized on the hype train, as executives and representatives made huge claims about the game's revolutionary mechanics. Delays to the final release bolstered the speculation on the part of fans that a lot of the claims would be fulfilled, but it did not, and perhaps it could never, deliver on the hype built around it by fans and CDPR.

Cyberpunk 2077 may have an inexcusable launch, but this doesn't rule out the fact that it was made worse by fan expectation and hype. Years built up to it, promises were made and not delivered on, and more, but the simple fact is the game had so much hype that anything less than perfect wouldn't have delivered either.

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How Hype Culture Could Affect Grand Theft Auto 6

Vector map of USA with Rockstar logo

As much as Rockstar's intentions of remaining tight-lipped about its future projects such as Grand Theft Auto 6 might sound justified, the hype around it has already grown to Cyberpunk 2077 levels. That's scary to think about considering the game isn't even out yet. It's been years at this point since fans have started cooking up the wildest theories about Grand Theft Auto 6, which could ultimately be a detriment to what the game wants to be.

Rockstar has been subject to this toxic level of hype before, not necessarily in as a grave way as Cyberpunk 2077 or even a potential Half-Life 3. The rumors surrounding its latest release Red Dead Redemption 2 were running rampant for quite some time, and while it was sheered in at a time of reveal, there's plenty of proof that reveals may not be enough to curb in hype.

In a similar vein, Grand Theft Auto 6 has cooked up a lot of speculations ranging anywhere to setting, the protagonist's gender, as well as the open-world and mission structure. While there's no doubt that a potential Grand Theft Auto 6 might sell very well, it's a possibility that fans banking on their speculations might be turned off and may not ever take the game on its own merit. The best thing Rockstar may be able to do now is try to get ahead of this and manage hype; much like Breath of the Wild 2 director addressing the game at the last Nintendo Direct, it helps when expectations are managed. Just giving a glimpse of what the developer aims to do with the franchise may serve off as a great starting point for fan speculation without inherently hurting the game in any way whatsoever.

Grand Theft Auto 6 is rumored to be in development.

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