GTA 6: Live updates as announcement 'imminent'
A Grand Theft Auto 6 announcement is heavily speculated to be 'imminent' ahead of an earnings call for Take-Two, the American holding company that owns Rockstar Games.
Social media recently went into meltdown as Rockstar had updated the GTA 6 page on its website with placeholders for four screenshots under a new heading called 'screens' and a release date heading in the 'specifications' section along with mentions of 'cover art' and 'digital purchases', which could mean pre-orders, in its code too.
But this was quickly reverted back to how it looked before - with the original trailer and not much else.
Ahead of Take-Two's earnings call, it's been speculated an announcement could be made in the run up to it, which could be in the form of screenshots, cover art, release date or perhaps even a second trailer.
This is because the company has a history of making announcements just before such a call to drive interest and investment in the company.
But Take-Two has recently shut down other indie studios, an office and has laid off staff - it's not yet known if Rockstar and GTA 6 have been affected but if finances are not as forecast, it could lead to delays.
Below is a roundup of some of the most recent leaks, rumours and discussions, and this will continue to be updated, so keep checking back for the latest.
GTA 6 - the latest
May 16, 10:19
An official announcement or update about GTA 6 has not yet been shared in the run-up to Take Two's earnings call.
Take-Two has had history of sharing news to drive investment and interest in the company.
Rockstar will be making Red Dead Redemption 2 available on PS Plus again imminently though, with speculation that Red Dead Redemption and Undead Nightmare will release on PC.
It's the 12th birthday of Rockstar's Max Payne 3 and an update is understood to have been made available for it.
However at the time of writing, there is no official update on GTA 6.
But even if there isn't any announcement before the earnings call, the call itself will at the very least provide an expected timeline of the release expectations for it, at the very minimum indicating if Rockstar plans to release the game before the end of the current financial year (which ends in March 2025) or the next (which would mean sometime between April and December 2025 if the first trailer's release detail of 2025 is still on track).
It's been heavily speculated previously that the planned release window for GTA 6 is early 2025.
Red Dead Redemption 2 soon available again on PS Plus Game Catalog
May 15, 16:47
Rockstar's Red Dead Redemption 2 (RDR2) is returning to the PS Plus Game Catalog.
Every month, Sony updates titles available on the upper two tiers of PlayStation's subscription service called PS Plus.
While a plethora of titles will leave the service, including a number in the Final Fantasy series, RDR2 is coming back along with Red Dead Online.
That and a number of other titles will be playable from May 21 onwards.
RDR2 was previously available on the PS Plus upper subscription tiers but was removed in September 2022.
Rockstar co-founder making open-world adventure game
May 15, 16:35
Rockstar Games co-founder Dan Houser is reportedly working on a new open-world adventure game with his new company Absurd Ventures.
Houser co-founded Rockstar in 1998 but left in early 2020, announcing his new venture in 2023.
Video Games Chronicle reports Absurd Ventures is recruiting for seven game development roles including a lead gameplay designer.
The job summary for the post says: "Become the primary vision holder and hands-on contributor for character, controls and camera design in an open world action-adventure game.
"The person in this role will lead a team of multi-disciplinary specialists to deliver best-in-class combat and third person action across multiple game modes."
'Sketchy suburban areas'
May 15, 15:59
A popular post on the GTA 6 Subreddit says Obelisk7777 would like to see "sketchy suburban areas in greater Leonida".
These features were prevalent in GTA 4's Liberty City, based on New York, but not so much in GTA 5's Los Santos, based on Los Angeles.
The post has 1.4k upvotes at the time of writing.
COYG17 said: "They need to definitely add more scary s**t the way they did in RDR2 (Red Dead Redemption 2). Walking through the woods and seeing dead bodies then getting attacked by some group of serial killers was a cool addition."
Tight-Fall5354 said: "In the leaks, there were criminal events that could happen to you like having your car stolen and s**t."
Burgher1933 said: "Couldn't agree more. If Saint Denis' alleyways or smaller streets are any sign of this, then we're in for some top level creepiness after dark."
Former Rockstar director on GTA's PS2 era
May 15, 14:56
Former Rockstar technical director Obbe Vermeij has given insight on X / Twitter to some of the technical details of the Grand Theft Auto games on the PS2 which were GTA 3, Vice City and San Andreas.
Vermeij worked at Rockstar North from 1995 to 2009.
He posted: "Memory on the PS2 was tight. We had to limit the number of used vehicle models to eight.
"My code would occasionally pick a car model to be phased out. Once there were none left on the map, this model would be removed and a new model could be loaded.
"The code would pick a model that was appropriate for the area (sports cars in business district, old cars in run-down areas etc)."
Popular concept map
May 15, 13:46
A Redditor has shared a concept map they say they've created in the GTA 6 Subreddit.
It shows an incredibly detailed map of how the fictional state of Leonida (where GTA 6 is set is based on Florida) could look as if it was on Google Earth or something similar; it seems as though it's been based off the GTA 6 mapping project map but without the panhandle.
The GTA 6 mapping project is an online community that's piecing together how Leonida could look based on leaks and widespread speculation.
It's got 1.5k upvotes at the time of writing.
Jason wearing prison shoes?
May 15, 11:58
X / Twitter user @GameRollGTA has spotted that "Jason appears to be wearing standard issue shoes which are given to convicts in federal prisons across the USA".
This was seen in the main artwork for the game that's so far been released.
The first trailer for GTA 6 sees Lucia in prison uniform - now there is speculation about Jason and whether he has faced, or will face, time in prison in the game.
Sex in cutscenes discussion
May 15, 10:50
The GTA 6 Subreddit community has been discussing the potential inclusion of sex in cutscenes in the game.
An X / Twitter user said: "GTA 6 will include adult content including sexual cutscenes between the two playable characters."
While this was reposted on Reddit as "fake", a number of users have been sharing their thoughts.
Eagle_1116 said: "I love how consensual sex is considered kinda taboo in video games but mass homicide isn't."
TheNRG450 said: "Oh trust me, Rockstar still has nightmares since the Hot Coffee era. They won't. Maximum some kind of Witcher 3's scenes."
Hot Coffee is the unofficial name for a minigame included in GTA: San Andreas where players could control main character CJ having animated sex with his girlfriend - it was removed when the game actually released but the code was not deleted.
A modder disabled controls around the code and released the modified code online under the name Hot Coffee - it got Rockstar and Take-Two into a legal backlash.
WeeklySavings said: "I mean there'll definitely be intimate scenes between Jason and Lucia. It'll never go too far and show them having sex tho lmao."
Rockstar 'releasing' Red Dead Redemption on PC
May 15, 09:53
A Reportedly reputable Rockstar insider has said Red Dead Redemption is on its way to PC.
The game first released on PS3 and Xbox 360 in 2010 and has not been made available on PC - but it appears that's about to change.
If true, it will include the Undead Nightmare DLC too.
Take-Two earnings call - what we know so far
May 15, 08:58
(Rockstar Games)
A composite image of the GTA 6 logo and a screenshot from the trailer
Take-Two's earnings call is happening on May 16 at 9.30pm BST.
Because the company has previously announced games such as Red Dead Redemption 2 in the run up to such calls to drive interest and investment, it's widely speculated an update on GTA 6 could precede the latest one.
The call will report on Q4 in the financial year for Take-Two, along with its overall performance in the full financial year and forecast for the next.
At the very least, it's expected a company forecast for the timeline of GTA 6 will be revealed, even if there is no official update or announcement before the call.
However an investment firm is recently reported to have "revised down" its expectations for Take-Two's earnings call and says GTA 6 could be delayed as a result.
According to Proactive Investors, Wedbush Securities said: "Take-Two investors have shown a willingness to look beyond a near-term whiff if a big longterm reward comes into view."
Wedbush said it expects an "underwhelming" full-year outlook for the earnings call but says it is "confident the wait for GTA 6 will be worth it".
Its full-year estimates for Take-Two is now at $6.51b in net bookings and $5.50 in earnings per share, down from its previous estimates of $7b and $7.
If financial targets are not on track, Wedbush is understood to have said this could have a knock-on effect on the development and release of GTA 6.
At the time of Take-Two previous earnings call in February, the company said: "At this time, the number tracking is a little above $7b for net bookings or the year and given the typical shifts in tweaks that occur in our forecasting process.
"Our pipeline is groundbreaking for next year and beyond, teams are making excellent progress on game development and nothing material has changed with regard to the lifetime value of our portfolio."
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