Why is GTA 6 delayed so long?
The Grand Theft Auto (GTA) series is one of the most successful and famous game series in history. In the past, we used to see a new release of this series approximately every two or three years. For example, the time period between GTA 3 (released in 2001) and GTA: San Andreas (released in 2004) was only 3 years, and even worse, the masterpiece GTA: Vice City was released in between them in 2002! Yes, Rockstar only needed about two years to release two of the best titles in the series and history! After San Andreas, Rockstar needed 4 years to release GTA 4 in 2008, then 5 years to release the legendary GTA V. It seems that the time gap is widening , but is it reasonable for it to expand to more than 11 years until we see GTA 6?
When Rockstar releases a new game, it sets a standard for the rest of the gaming industry to follow, not just for the year the game is released, but for an entire gaming generation, and the GTA and RDR series are great examples. These two series redefined gaming physics, graphics, stories, and open worlds.
ExplainsTake-Two Interactive Chairman and CEO Strauss Zelnick (Rockstar's parent company) echoes this philosophy, saying: " I think that's the challenge that Rockstar faces every time we release a new version of GTA. It has to be something you've never seen before, it has to reflect our feelings about the game, and that's a big challenge for the team. Rockstar's answer to that challenge is to strive for perfection; nothing less than perfection, and we will get there ."
Apart from the improved GTA trilogy that came out a few years ago, Rockstar has never released an incomplete part of this series. Each part pushed the boundaries of creativity and innovation and came up with better ideas and gameplay mechanics than the previous one, and this is on all platforms, whether console or PC, etc. The bottom line is that Rockstar rarely releases a bad or incomplete game, especially if we are talking about its most famous GTA series, and this pursuit of perfection is the first justification for the delay of GTA 6.
We would be doing GTA V an injustice if we said it was a success; “successful” is not the ideal description for the unique phenomenon that GTA V has achieved in the gaming world. The revenues of this game exceeded $9 billion, do you know what that means? It means that this version is one of the most successful entertainment products in history. GTA Online alone made half a billion dollars in profits in 2023, in comparison, the well-known AAA game Cyberpunk 2077 only made $752 million (not a small number, but GTA 5 made it so).
So, the profits of GTA V gave Rockstar the financial stability to slow down the development of GTA 6. The fact is that Rockstar wanted to "milk" GTA 5, and this is not my description, but the description of one of the former developers in the company, where he said that GTA Online in particular became a " cash cow" project . Frankly, with an objective look at this approach, we will see that Rockstar did nothing wrong, as it is its right to get the maximum financial benefit from each game.
GTA fans have very high expectations for each new installment in the series, perhaps more than any other game in the industry. With this in mind, as well as the idea of striving for perfection, Rockstar believes that any installment in the series cannot be a simple improvement on the previous installment, but rather it must offer a revolution and an exemplary approach. Achieving something like this requires a lot of time and money, especially with the constant expansion of the size of the games.
Truth be told: GTA games are not just games, they are rich open world experiences full of details that require a lot and a lot of time. It is not about realism or graphics at all, but about all the details that make GTA the most popular title in the industry. If you pay attention to the game, you will find that it is full of many details such as the changing weather, various radio stations, side missions and activities rich in content, fun interactions with other characters, etc. of the factors that distinguish GTA. This, again, cannot be accomplished in a year or two, especially with the complexity and development in each part from the other.
Aside from time and money, a game series like GTA can only be developed by highly skilled creative individuals, especially since the series offers an incredible level of gameplay and realistic simulation. It is worth noting that the gaming industry as a whole has seen tremendous growth over the years, which is reflected in the budgets of the GTA series. For example, the budget for San Andreas was less than $10 million, while the budget for GTA IV was around $100 million, and GTA V was around $265 million. As for GTA VI, some leaks indicate that its budget could reach $2 billion, an amount that exceeds the budget of GTA V by several times, even taking into account the effect of inflation.
With a huge budget and high expectations from the audience, the team is under a lot of pressure during the development of a game. When an official release date is set, this pressure increases even more, resulting in intense work schedules and grueling work periods to meet deadlines. For example, the team behind Red Dead Redemption 2 had to work 100-hour work weeks to ensure the game was ready on time.
In short, GTA 6 has been delayed for more than 11 years due to a number of logical and interconnected factors such as Rockstar's commitment to quality and perfection and its quest to provide a revolutionary experience in each new part, high expectations from the audience, the massive development that imposes special requirements in the gaming industry, and other factors. The question here now is: Will GTA 6 compensate us after all this wait or will we get a disappointing experience?