Fans finally have a release date for the sixth instalment in the Grand Theft Auto franchise to look forward to.
Rockstar Games announced on Thursday (16 May) that GTA VI will arrive in the autumn of 2025.
The news was revealed after Rockstar’s parent company Take-Two Interactive reported a financial loss of $2.9bn in the last financial quarter.
The company also reported that GTA V has sold 200 million copies since its release in 2013, making it the second bestselling title of all time behind Minecraft, which has sold over 300 million copies.
Rockstar was forced to release the GTA VI trailer ahead of time on 5 December after the video, set in a fictionalised version of Miami known as Vice City and set to the sounds of “Love is a Long Road” by Tom Petty, was leaked online. The video generated more than 93 million views in its first 24 hours on YouTube, smashing viewing records.
Reactions to the trailer were overwhelmingly positive, with fans praising the game’s graphics, and the apparent decision to focus on a female protagonist, for the first time in the franchise’s history.
The Grand Theft Auto franchise is one of the most critically acclaimed and popular franchises in gaming, with the past several entries often ranking among the best video games ever made.
In September 2022, a hacker leaked 90 videos and screenshots of GTA 6. The footage and screenshots were described as early development, but it all but confirmed the game would be taking place in Vice City.
While GTA VI is expected to tell an original story, it will therefore be set in an expanded version of the location previously featured in 2002’s Grand Theft Auto: Vice City.
Reddit users have already been mocking up maps of Vice City, based on the leak.
Like GTA V, the latest title will feature more than one protagonist. Much of the trailer showed a Latin American woman called Lucia and a man named Jason.
The latest game is rumoured to be based on the real-life criminals Bonnie and Clyde, according to someone familiar with the game’s development.
New York actor Gregory Connors is reported to be playing Jason in GTA 6. Though the casting hasn’t been officially confirmed, Connors listed a ‘lead’ role in a 2025 Rockstar game in a recent CV update.
GTA VI will be available on PS5 and the Xbox Series X in autumn 2025.
