‘Grand Theft Auto VI’ getting release date from Rockstar after years of fans clamoring: report

GTA VI is almost here, and fans can barely wait much longer.

Ten years since it’s last release in the series, Rockstar Games is gearing up to announce the highly anticipated “Grand Theft Auto VI,” according to a new report.

The studio, a subsidiary of Take-Two Interactive Software Inc., is planning to make the announcement as soon as this week, according to Bloomberg.

A trailer is expected to be released in December, just as Rockstar Games is celebrating it’s the 25th anniversary.

The new game will be the first “GTA” release since the massively successful “Grand Theft Auto V” came out in 2013.

That game, a multi-platform phenomenon, has sold over 185 million copies second only to Minecraft, which has sold over 300 million since its release in 2011.

GTA V is available for users to play using PC, Playstation, and Xbox, where players can play either the story mode or the online mode format where your character is inside an open world with the ability to drive fly, and sail around the map while completing missions, heists and business dealings.

Over the years, the GTA online community has been plagued with hackers, who “grief” or intentionally disrupt the gameplay for other players, something the developers have tried to combat, but to no avail.

In 2018 a Georgia man was sued by Take-Two Interactive after claiming it lost $500,000 because the man developed a cheating system that “allows a player to “alter” the games of those they’re competing against.

The new game will be set in a fictionalized version of Miami and South Florida, while featuring a man-woman duo, with the latter being the first female protagonist of the series.

This new installment will also reportedly cut back on the crude, and potentially offensive jokes about minority groups, that were made popular in the previous games.

Reports of the milder language have sparked a debate among the fans, with some complaining they are taking away the jokes, and are leaving behind the violent gameplay, because players can drive over non-playable characters (NPC) shoot and kill police officers, and rob convenience stores.

Several delays have struck the development of the new game including over the last few years when Rockstar Games took the initiative to clean its corporate culture and work-life balance after reports thats some developers were working over 100 hours a week and complaining about burnout after the 2018 release of “Red Dead Redemption 2,” Bloomberg reported.

Last year, Rockstar Games announced it suffered a network intrusion which led to some of “GTA VI” footage being released.

The hackers “illegally accessed and downloaded confidential information including early development footage for the next Grand Theft Auto,” the company said in a post to X on Sept. 19, 2022.

“We are extremely disappointed to have any details of our next game shared with you all in this way,” the studio said. “Our work on the next Grand Theft Auto game will continue as planned and we remain as committed as ever to delivering an experience to you, our players, that truly exceeds your expectations.”

Since the incident, police in the UK arrested two teenagers involved with the hack, including one who was already on probation for a different hacking incident.

Fans of the game shared their feelings with Tuesday’s announcement with a majority sharing how excited they were.

“GTA 6 release date + Trailer dropping (soon.) I can’t believe my eyes this is really happening,” one person on X said.

“We’ve been waiting 10 years for GTA 6!!!” another added.