Hold on to your controllers, keyboard, and whatever else you use to navigate the virtual streets of Los Santos because the Grand Theft Auto 6 rumor mill is spinning faster than a souped-up sports car.

Speculation, leaks, and fan impatience are revving up, and according to trusted insider Tez2, Rockstar might finally be gearing up to drop the much-anticipated announcement. The gaming world's favorite mystery, GTA 6, could be coming out of the shadows "soon," claims Tez2, leaving us wondering if this is the light at the end of a long, rumor-filled tunnel or another false dawn.

"Everything seems to line up for a high likelihood of Rockstar announcing VI soon," Tez2 posted on GTA Forums. And Tez2 isn't just your garden-variety forum poster, he's got a track record as solid as a bulletproof vest when it comes to GTA leaks. He furthered his insights by suggesting that a hunt or collectible event in GTA Online might tease for GTA 6. Given that Rockstar has played this card before, using GTA Online to tease major announcements, it wouldn't be too surprising to see the online multiplayer platform turned into a hype train station.

This isn't the first time Rockstar has fiddled with our heartstrings. Earlier this year, shirts celebrating GTA 5's ten-year anniversary went live in GTA Online and then were mysteriously. The shirts, seemingly alien-themed, contained cryptic messages such as "One day will reveal all," stoking the speculative fires once again. A UFO flying over a house in GTA Trilogy was another tidbit that had fans squinting for clues, with some speculating that this was our first-ever glimpse of GTA 6.

But here's the kicker: Recent comments from Take-Two Interactive's CEO Strauss Zelnick have suggested GTA VI might launch as early as 2024-2025. Does that mean we should be expecting a trailer soon? Well, it's hard to say. Take-Two Interactive isn't just about Rockstar and GTA. They've got a loaded deck of other lucrative titles like the next BioShock game, Judas, a new Borderlands entry, and a plethora of highly profitable mobile games from Zynga in their portfolio. Their financial forecast, which is looking pretty rosy, isn't necessarily a flashing neon sign that screams, "GTA 6 is coming!"

Here's some financial real talk to add some grit to the glamour. Take-Two is expecting a leap in net bookings from $5.5 billion this year to $8 billion in the next fiscal year. However, don't pop the champagne yet; it could be an assortment of AAA games contributing to that number. The fiscal year isn't a weekend, it's 12 whole months.

As we've mentioned, within that timeframe, Take-Two could release several new games, including re-releases of older classics like Bully and Grand Theft Auto 4. Not to forget, the Red Dead Remaster re-release still managed to rake in the big bucks despite being criticized.

Grand Theft Auto 6 has been in "active development" since at least February 2022. That's a blink of an eye compared to the agonizing waits fans had for titles like Cyberpunk 2077 and The Elder Scrolls VI as well as the current flavor of the month, Starfield. Nevertheless, the fans are getting tired and their collective patience is wearing thin. 

So, should you get excited about the possibility of a GTA 6 announcement soon? Absolutely. But should you bet your in-game GTA dollars on it? Maybe not.

Either way, the next few months promise to be an interesting journey, be it a smooth ride down the streets of Vice City or another detour down Rumor Lane. Strap in, folks; we're in for a ride.