Four days after the development confirmation, Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick asks fans for patience: Rockstar will talk when it is ready.
Sources ign.com · charlieintel.com · gameranx.com · gamergen.com
On 8 February 2022, four days after Rockstar confirmed development of the next Grand Theft Auto, Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick was asked what comes next. His answer came down to one instruction: patience. Fans should "stay tuned", he told IGN, because Rockstar will share a lot more information "in time".
According to IGN, Zelnick stressed that the publisher's labels "always decide when and how to announce" their games, and that GTA is no exception. He gave no details. He did set the bar: every new entry in a major in-house franchise has done better than the last, he said, without promising it will happen again.
The third fiscal quarter results show the scale Rockstar faces. GamerGen notes that GTA V passed 160 million copies sold on 31 December 2021 and that the series now exceeds 370 million. The publisher also pointed out that GTA V was the best-selling game in the United States over the past decade. A sequel has to beat a monument that is still selling.
Charlie INTEL reads the call more boldly. Zelnick spoke of growing "net bookings" in fiscal year 2023 thanks to several "exciting releases", which the site suggests could mean GTA 6. It admits this is speculation, since Take-Two owns other franchises. We treat it as such: neither the publisher nor Rockstar gave a date.
In an interview picked up by Gameranx from GamesIndustry.biz, Zelnick also explained why to push a sequel while GTA V still sells: "You always have to be willing to be fresh", he said, and trying to protect the past makes you irrelevant. He is confident the GTA catalogue will keep performing after the new game arrives.
Fiscal 2023 did not bring GTA 6. The first trailer landed in December 2023, then delays followed: the game is now set for 19 November 2026 on PS5 and Xbox Series X|S, with preload on 12 November and a PEGI 18 rating. The standard edition costs €79.99 and the Ultimate €99.99 (see our price page). The Goodtime State collector, at €399.99, ships without the game. GTA VI: The Album is out the same day, and no PC version has been announced.
Nothing concrete about the game that day, but a method that has not changed since: Rockstar controls the calendar, and the publisher does not chase the public's curiosity. When reading Take-Two earnings, it pays to separate what the publisher says about its finances from what the studio says about its game. The two do not always line up.
Sources ign.com · charlieintel.com · gameranx.com · gamergen.com
By Solange Rocheval · VI Countdown newsroom, OKALAM Studio