Last year, several insiders agreed that Grand Theft Auto 6 wouldn't be out until 2025. But, there were a few who were all but certain that the next GTA game will be available to play in two years. Now, Microsoft has just joined the latter, with its belief that Rockstar Games will roll out GTA 6 in 2024.
Microsoft mentioned the release window of GTA 6 in its latest response to the UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), as it tries to convince the regulatory body, among others, that it should be allowed to purchase Activision Blizzard.
In its statement, the tech giant argues that Activision Blizzard's massive library of IPs doesn't make up enough of the gaming market to hurt competition. Furthermore, Microsoft uses a laundry list of other big-name games and publishers as examples in its bid to make Call of Duty less lucrative. Specifically, Microsoft singles out Rockstar Games' parent company, Take-Two Interactive, and the upcoming GTA sequel, Grand Theft Auto 6, saying:
The highly anticipated Grand Theft Auto VI is expected to be released in 2024.
On one hand, this sure does sound like Microsoft has access to privy information the public doesn't. On the other hand, Microsoft did cite a TechRadar article, that credits a Bloomberg report, in which it is claimed that unnamed current and former Rockstar employees are under the impression that GTA 6 "is still at least two years away from release, suggesting a 2024 launch."
So, which is which? At this point, only Microsoft knows what it's trying to say.
However, it's worth noting that Microsoft is using publicly available reports and rumors in an official document submitted to a governing body, as it attempts to persuade the said regulator. It's not unprecedented for speculative information to make its way into such proceedings. But, when you're trying to close a $70 billion acquisition deal, it's best to stick to the facts. As such, this public document is as close to an official release date as we can get until Rockstar and Take-Two come forward with a new revelation.
Speaking of, the GTA franchise will be celebrating its 25th anniversary later this month. We are hoping that the grapevine talk yields fruit and we'll get a GTA 6-related announcement by then.
In other news, Take-Two reassured fans that the September GTA 6 leak won't have an impact on the development of the game. Also, the holding company's CEO, Strauss Zelnick, is in full support of the Activision Blizzard buyout by Microsoft. Finally, Rockstar just took a hard stance against NFTs and cryptocurrency by banning the controversial digital currencies from GTA Online.
