Matheusvictorbr describes a duo separated in 2003 and an insider mentions Holiday 2023. Rockstar said nothing, and the real duo is a couple.
Photo: Rockstar Games
Sources hypebeast.com · boundingintocomics.com · in.ign.com
A brother and sister separated after their parents die in 2003, a world that gets destroyed as the story advances, and a launch slipping from Christmas 2023 to early 2024: that is what Hypebeast, Bounding Into Comics and IGN India report on 4 and 5 April 2022. Two sources, two rumours, and not a line from Rockstar.
According to Bounding Into Comics, leaker Matheusvictorbr, who writes in Portuguese, says he received the idea Rockstar proposed: the story of two siblings, one male and one female, separated when their parents are killed, in a prologue set in 2003. He adds that the idea was never to cover several decades, but to offer destructible environments and a map that changes with the story. Hypebeast repeats these points and adds that Rockstar would start its marketing soon, for a 2024 release.
The second piece is more discreet. IGN India quotes a Rockstar insider who, on a forum about Red Dead Online, says the target set a year earlier for the next GTA was Holiday 2023, with a strong chance of slipping into early 2024. He mostly worries about the lack of new Red Dead Online content and notes that Rockstar keeps feeding GTA Online with GTA+. It is a deduction, not an official calendar.
Bounding Into Comics recalls that the idea of a female lead matched what Tom Henderson said in 2021, and wonders about the consequences of a destructible online world. The question nobody answers: if one player levels a building, do the others still see it? Rockstar answered none of it, and neither the heroes' names nor their family ties are given.
The December 2023 trailer 1 introduced Lucia and Jason, two protagonists who are a couple, not a brother and sister. No map destruction has been announced. The schedule slipped well beyond 2024: after a first delay to May 2026, the game is out on 19 November 2026 on PS5 and Xbox Series X|S, preload on 12 November, PEGI 18, €79.99 standard and €99.99 Ultimate. The Goodtime State collector costs €399.99 without the game, GTA VI: The Album is out the same day, and no PC version has been announced. See the release page.
This episode shows a trait of 2022: the core (a female lead, two heroes) proved right, the form (the family, the 2003 prologue) did not hold. As for the calendar, the insider was right about the trend: Rockstar's dates only ever slipped.
Sources hypebeast.com · boundingintocomics.com · in.ign.com
By Amélie · VI Countdown newsroom, OKALAM Studio