Following on from Rockstar Games finally confirming that GTA 6 is currently in "active development" comes an exciting new official statement from the Grand Theft Auto publisher Take-Two.
That's because in the firm's just released financial update, Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick, not only reveals that "the next entry in the Grand Theft Auto series [is] well underway", but also that the "Rockstar Games team is determined to once again set creative benchmarks for the series, our industry, and for all entertainment".
Simply put, that information should have gamers the world over very excited. GTA V has been so stupendously popular that, to date, it has sold nearly 170 million copies, so if Rockstar is about to set a new higher benchmark in terms of quality, we could be looking at not just the best game of all time, but the best piece of media entertainment that's ever been made.
Of course, these bullish statements from Zelnick are to be expected, though – after all, the publisher of the game is hardly going to downplay its quality and potential impact. As such, a little pinch of salt and not getting too carried away seems smart at this juncture. But despite a reported troubled development, who would really bet against Rockstar delivering a new "creative benchmark" with GTA 6?
GTA 6 Take-Two statement opinion: the timing is more important
I'm glad to hear that the GTA 6 development team is looking to increase its scope and set new creative benchmarks, but really the part of this info drop that enthused me most was Zelnick's comments that the game is "well underway".
After all, there had been rumors that the game had been so troubled in development that the team was tearing everything up and starting again, even if more recent rumors have pointed to that being false.
More recent GTA 6 release date rumors have the game launching in 2024, which feels right for a game that has been in "active development" for years and is destined for launch on the next-gen PS5 and Xbox Series X consoles.
For me personally, that feels about right, too, and feels a realistic period of time for the game to be completed and released. It will also give me more time to clear my backlog of games as well, which grows longer by the day.
