So far, we all know rock star Next entry in process Grand Theft Auto series. According to the studio’s February development update, GTA 6 is “a work in progress.”
But the form of the game is unclear: there are plenty of rumors about what it will (and won’t) include, but the fact remains that neither Rockstar nor publisher Take-Two have given us any hints of what to expect from the game .
Enter Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick. Known for making rather inflammatory comments — like telling us we’re all ready to pay for a $70 game, saying backwards compatibility doesn’t matter, etc. — the anti-union CEO last night ‘s earnings report made some comments about the brand.
Noting that GTA 5 has now sold an eye-popping 170 million units, the CEO talks about how GTA+ Premium membership has continued to grow since launch, and how the company is monetizing players on PS5/Xbox Series X/S Generation 36% higher. But, amid all the profit debate, he saw what GTA 6 would look like, coming out of GTA 5’s shadow.
“With development well underway on the next entry in the Grand Theft Auto franchise, the Rockstar Games team is determined to once again set the creative benchmark for the franchise, our industry and all entertainment, just as the label has done for every game. That way their frontline releases,” the CEO said.
That’s a pretty big claim. But, to be fair, GTA is capable of doing just that: even at launch, GTA 5 was a juggernaut. It made $800 million in its first day and $1 billion in its first three days. At the time, it was a world entertainment record – more money than any film, album, game or TV release during the same period.
But it would be a monetary benchmark, wouldn’t it? The wording Strauss uses here – “creative benchmark” – suggests that this will be a game that surpasses even the last GTA or Red Dead Redemption 2 in terms of scope, characters, writing, freedom, and its vision. Would the best directors of the era see GTA 6 as a masterpiece, and take inspiration from its style to add to their work? Would the writer deliberately nod to the dialogue and steal them for his beloved character? Will HBO, Netflix, ABC, and Disney TV executives sit in dark conference rooms, hunched over their laptops, tearing apart scenes second by second to better understand how to make compelling, unquestionable content? According to Strauss, yes. Yes they will.
I’m talking nonsense. Looking at the legacy of the series, these comments from Strauss are more than a dubious bragging—becoming an industry standard (across countless industries) sounds like a legitimate goal for a company and its CEO happy with its offer. We’ll just have to wait and see if GTA 6 can match the record-setting GTA 5.
Back in June 2021, multiple reports surfaced that GTA 6 was still in early development and wouldn’t be another four years. If that’s to be believed — and there’s been no delay since then — we’ll have to wait until at least 2024 or 2025 to see Zelnick’s high-water vision for all entertainment.
Here’s hoping GTA 6, even slightly, delivers on that crazy promise.
