‘Grand Theft Auto 6’ aims to set “creative benchmarks” for games industry

Take-Two reiterated the development status of Rockstar Games’ next major title in an earnings call from yesterday (August 8), with CEO Strauss Zelnick outlining the precedent the company wants the game to set.

“With development of the next entry in the GTA series well underway, the Rockstar Games team is determined to once again set creative benchmarks for the series, our industry, and for all entertainment, just as the label has done with every one of their frontline releases,” said Zelnick (via PC Gamer).

Whilst there’s no release date for Grand Theft Auto 6 as of yet, Rockstar did say back in February that the title was in “active development”, with around 200 new jobs suggesting a pivot towards the project as well.

A report from last month also indicates what setting and protagonist the game will have: players will reportedly explore a fictionalised version of Miami with two main characters, one of which will be the series’ first female lead. The two leads are allegedly going to be influenced by famous bank-robbing couple Bonnie and Clyde.

Rockstar’s own efforts to tackle the crunch culture in its studio have also apparently impacted GTA 6’s development. To make sure it releases earlier, the studio will apparently update the game with new missions and cities regularly post-launch. The title is also “at least” two years from release.

The developer has already removed transphobic content from Grand Theft Auto 5 and GTA Online, which reflects an apparent effort in the next game to not “punch down” on marginalised groups.

In other news, less than one per cent of Netflix’s 221million subscriber base is playing the games that come with the service.