What a difference six years makes. Back in 2018, Rockstar co-founder Dan Houser was candid about his relief that GTA 6 wouldn’t be released during the chaos of a Trump presidency.
While the GTA series is known for its scathing riffs on American culture, Houser told GQ that the resulting extremism on both sides of the political aisle would be hard to lampoon. The Trump era was “beyond satire”, he declared, adding that any attempt at parody would risk upsetting everyone.
But, with Mr Trump now set for a political encore, Houser’s prediction has taken an unexpected turn.
When GTA 6 finally arrives in autumn 2025, team Trump will be holding court in the Oval Office. Will that mean the game, which has been in development for more than a decade, ends up looking “out of date within two minutes”, as Houser once feared?
If it wasn’t hard enough meeting the lofty expectations of gamers, who have set an almost impossibly high bar for the latest GTA after the monstrous success of GTA 5, Rockstar will now also have to navigate the febrile political environment its co-founder warned of.
Was Houser afraid of potential blowback from the president himself? After all, Mr Trump has previously suggested that violent video games were partly to blame for mass shootings, arguing they should be discouraged and made harder to buy.
That doesn’t bode well for a game like GTA 6 which, among other criminal exploits, lets players brazenly gun down police officers.
Is GTA woke?
To make matters worse, video games have now entered the culture wars.
Elon Musk, widely tipped for a potential role in the new cabinet following his backing of Mr Trump, has criticised games he perceives as pushing political agendas. On his social media platform X, discussions have degenerated into debates about the desirability of female characters in games and the use of pronouns.
"Video games need to get rid of the woke bs. Getting lectured with tedious propaganda is not why people play games!" Musk tweeted earlier this year. At a Pennsylvania town hall, when asked about the "woke mind virus" in video games, Mr Musk immediately responded with, "Make video games great again”.
Rockstar, which has reportedly tried to clean up its frat-boy culture, previously removed transphobic jokes from GTA 5. It is also said to be taking a more cautious approach to humour in GTA 6, trying not to "punch down" or make jokes about marginalised groups.
The new game will also be the first to feature a female playable character in the series’ 26-year history. How all of this goes down amid the current discourse is anyone’s guess.
Will the GTA 6 release be delayed?
But surely Rockstar won’t push back GTA 6 to simply avoid the fallout of a Trump presidency? The thought of waiting an additional four years is enough to make fans weep.
Fortunately, such a rash move doesn’t appear to be on the cards. Rockstar recently reaffirmed that the game is still on track for release next autumn, as planned. Houser, meanwhile, has left the company to start his own game studio, Absurd Ventures.
Of course, there are plenty of other reasons the game might face delays. Known for its perfectionism, Rockstar has a history of pushing back its biggest titles, including Red Dead Redemption 2 and GTA 4.
GTA VI Trailer 2 ends with ‘Now Releasing 2029’ pic.twitter.com/9Q4lKqQEAU
— GTABase.com (@GTABase) November 6, 2024
With the stock price of its parent company, Take-Two Interactive, riding on GTA 6’s success (nay, the fate of the entire gaming industry resting in its hands), any number of factors could lead to a last-minute hold-up.
The lack of promotional activity for GTA 6, save for a trailer released last December, also doesn’t inspire confidence for a punctual arrival.
At least we don’t have long to wait to find out: Take Two will announce its latest financial results tonight (November 6), where we’re sure to hear about its plans for GTA 6.
But, as we now know, predicting the future is a fool’s errand.
