Grand Theft Auto 6 – What Fans Want To See
In June, Sony revealed the PlayStation 5 to the world. Some of the biggest takeaways from the live-streamed presentation were the new black and white styling of the console itself, the hugely upgraded controller, and incredible ray-tracing graphics.
While fans were left trembling with excitement for most of the reveal, there was some anger and confusion and at the announcement that Grand Theft Auto V would be released for the console in 2021 with “extensions and enhancements”.
Sarcastic and disappointed YouTube comments came flooding in, including “congrats to Rockstar for putting the same game out on 3 generations…” and “never been so disappointed to see this open with GTA V…”
Many had expected a GTA 6 during or after the Sony presentation, but instead were left with questions.
When Will GTA 6 Be Released?
One thing does seem likely after the announcement: fans won’t get their hands on GTA 6 until 2022 at very the earliest. Rockstar appears to have been busy getting the online version of Red Dead Redemption ready and is making a lot from GTA Online, making a rush to release GTA 6 unlikely.
If you look at recent financial filings from the publisher of GTA, Take-Two, you can see a forecasted increase in its marketing spent between Q2 of 2023 and Q1 of 2024.
This could well be for GTA 6 and Jeff Cohen, an analyst in the industry, has pointed out that previous marketing spikes have successfully predicted other big game releases from the company.
If this is true, then it will mean fans will have waited an entire decade between the release of GTA V and GTA 6, ten times longer than between GTA III and Vice City, five times longer than between Vice City and San Andreas, and twice as long as between IV and V.
This gives Rockstar plenty of time to develop an earth-shattering game, packed with many new features and a killer storyline. Rumours and wish lists are circulating online as fans and critics discuss what they expect and would like to see in the game.
Location
Apart from the London expansion packs for the original Grand Theft Auto, every other game in the franchise has been based in all or part of Liberty City, Vice City and San Andreas. Some fans would like to see a return to Vice City, since GTA IV and V were set in Liberty City and Los Santos.
Some rumours are predicting a much bigger game focused on the Americas, with multiple cities including Vice City and another metropolis based on Rio de Janeiro. It may be that new cities are added after the release as DLC, extending the life of the game.
Side Missions
Based on the history of all other games in the franchise, it seems a given that GTA 6 will have a multitude of minigames, Easter eggs and side missions.
Everyone has their own favourite minigames from the GTA games, including bank heists in GTA V and the ambulance missions from the PS2 games.
The vigilante missions which had been upgraded in GTA IV but removed in V would be a welcome return, as would street racing and stock market investing.
Both San Andreas and GTA Online have casinos which can be used for playing popular games like blackjack and roulette. Some criticised the limitations of these, but this is probably unfair given that it is a minigame and not designed to compete with fully-fledged online casino websites.
Time
Fans who loved Vice City’s bright colours and killer soundtrack would love a return to the 80s, especially if the game returns to Rockstar’s version of Miami. This would mean features like smartphones, the internet and GPS would need to be removed from the game though, something that may upset some fans.
Another suggestion has been that the game will take place over several decades, adding more depth to the story, while some have even claimed that there is evidence of a “prison chapter”. These both seem unlikely though, as they’d take away from the open-world mechanics of the game.
Playable Character
GTA V pioneered the mechanic of switching between playable characters, adding new dimensions to the storyline. Some fans loved this feature, particularly when switching to Trevor to find him passed out on a rock wearing a questionable outfit, while others complained that it made it harder to connect with the protagonists.
This feature had actually been in development since San Andreas, but technical limitations of the PlayStation 2 meant it wasn’t possible.
After trying it out in GTA V, some fans would like it removed for the next game, returning to the single playable character. Others would like to see it extended further, with one rumour circulating online suggesting that you could play four characters, two of which would be police officers.
This latter suggestion seems relatively unlikely though and is similar to rumours we’ve heard before about other games.
It seems we have a long time to wait before we’ll get to play GTA 6, which gives us plenty of time to add to our wish lists before then.
