There are very few video games that are both as broadly influential and immensely successful as the Grand Theft Auto series. From pretty much the moment the games arrived on the scene with the original back in 1997, their brand of highly controversial, debauched criminal thrills became a fixation for gamers around the world, and in the process spawned a franchise that now includes five mainline games, as well as multiple non-numbered titles and expansions. In under two decades, the series became one of the most lucrative in gaming history, with the most recent installment, Grand Theft Auto 5, becoming the second-highest selling video game of all-time.
Thirteen years after the release of that last installment, Rockstar Games is finally following up the previous game and the acclaim that surrounded it with Grand Theft Auto 6, a sequel that has easily become one of the most anticipated gaming releases of the 2020s. Officially announced back in 2022 with a first trailer released in 2023 (a full decade after GTA 5’s release), not only is the game a long-awaited one, but it could also be the most expensive game ever made, with rumors estimating a budget of around $1 to $2 billion dollars. At that price point, GTA 6 feels like the gaming equivalent of a major studio blockbuster — but that’s an ethos that has been with the franchise since its inception, as the beloved series has always sought to emulate Hollywood and some iconic films in a loving way.
