GTA 6 is Rockstar Games’ most ambitious project of all time, and it should be. Grand Theft Auto 5 is second only to Minecraft in unit sales. If Rockstar wants to come close to beating it, GTA VI will need to aim high.
So far, the leaks we’ve heard and personally received about GTA 6 have gotten mixed reactions from fans. In particular, players don’t know quite what to expect about potential leads as the studio steers toward becoming a more “socially aware” company.
On one hand, we get it. Perhaps Rockstar wants to revamp its reputation. This would explain why GTA VI is still in the very early stages of development, even though Rockstar started working on the game in 2014.
On the other hand, is GTA 6 still going to be just as good if Rockstar is worried about making it less offensive to certain groups? Keep in mind that satire is the lifeblood of the Grand Theft Auto franchise. If it can’t satirize everybody, then what’s the point at all?
If it’s any consolation, a former Rockstar employee believes that all this talk about Rockstar reinventing itself is all bullcrap.
According to Aaron Stewart-Ahn, who spent a few months at Rockstar a little over a decade ago, the claims that Rockstar will make GTA more inclusive are “absurd and cynical.”
Of course, we shouldn’t be too quick to accept Stewart-Ahn’s statement as fact. He hasn’t been a part of Rockstar for a long time. Not to mention, a lot has changed in Rockstar since. Case in point, Rockstar is now more aware of its crunch culture. Also, Stewart-Ahn’s claims were less supportive of Rockstar and more scathing.
It’s implied that Stewart-Ahn quit his job at Rockstar because the company refused to be more progressive towards sex workers and the LGBTQ community, among other groups. Either way, it’s unlikely that we’ll find out the truth behind GTA VI soon. Take-Two’s recent release pipeline through 2025 doesn’t have GTA VI, which suggests that the new GTA installment won’t be around for at least 3-4 years from now if not later.
In the meantime, you might want to recap the things that we officially do know about GTA 6, like how Rockstar is ramping up development as evidenced by the several job listings online and the fact that Rockstar has effectively ditched Red Dead Online to focus on GTA VI. Also, one of the best “rip-off” games of all time, Saints Row, is returning on August 23 after going gold last month.
