Take-Two Interactive, the parent company of Rockstar Games, has announced that the highly anticipated video game “Grand Theft Auto VI” will be released in the autumn of 2025.
Rockstar had previously indicated that the next installment of the blockbuster franchise would be available next year but had not provided further details. This narrowing of the release window was disclosed in the earnings report from New York-based Take-Two, though no exact date has been set.
“Consumer anticipation for the title is unprecedented, and our expectations for its commercial success continue to increase,” Take-Two stated.
However, executives avoided providing specific details about GTA VI during an earnings call.
“Rockstar hasn’t given any details on what its expectations are for the release,” Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick informed analysts.
“A wonderful trailer that they put out broke the internet and more news will come from Rockstar in the fullness of time.”
The trailer indicates that GTA VI will be set in the fictional Vice City, reminiscent of Miami, and appears to feature the franchise’s first playable female character.
The GTA VI trailer opens with a female character named Lucia being released from prison in what seems to be a fictionalised version of Florida. Near the end of the one-minute-and-30-second trailer, she tells her male partner in crime: “The only way we are going to get through this is by sticking together, being a team.” The pair then burst into a store with pistols drawn and bandanas covering the lower halves of their faces.
Fans quickly inferred that the scene confirmed rumours of a “Bonnie and Clyde” type crime couple.
Released a decade ago, its predecessor, GTA V, has sold more than 200 million copies, according to Zelnick.
However, the series’ wild success has been accompanied by considerable controversy. Critics have long accused Grand Theft Auto of glorifying violence and encouraging players to engage in criminal behaviour, allegations Take-Two executives have denied.
In GTA V, players can sell drugs, fight, rob, and go on car rampages, among other activities. Gameplay options also included assaulting sex workers and visiting strip clubs, which have raised the ire of activists.