Rockstar says its next game won't take as long as GTA VI
In a Bloomberg interview, Rockstar development heads Phil Hooker and Aaron Garbut said the engine, tools and team built for Grand Theft Auto VI will let the studio make its next game faster.
Rockstar's next game should not take as long to make as Grand Theft Auto VI. That is the message from the studio's development leadership in a new Bloomberg interview about the game, reported today by IGN, GamesRadar+ and Insider Gaming. The work done on GTA VI, they say, is a foundation the studio will build on rather than replace.
Phil Hooker, described by IGN as co-head of development and by GamesRadar+ as technical director, put it this way: "The engine, the tools and the team we've built during this project will allow us to do things more quickly." He added that he feels confident Rockstar can "build on top of this and go more sideways than upwards to build more compelling content."
Aaron Garbut, co-head of development, made the same point from the other direction: "We foundationally changed a lot of stuff on this project. But now it's done, and we're not going to rip it apart."
A long gap
The context explains why the question comes up at all. GTA VI launches in November, eight years after Red Dead Redemption 2, Rockstar's last game. GamesRadar+ notes that it also arrives 13 years after GTA V, which launched in 2013.
According to Insider Gaming, the interview describes part of the early development as a "dark period". Uncertainty about the game's vision, the pandemic and the leaks all made the work harder.
Bloomberg draws a comparison with GTA III, which laid the groundwork that let Vice City follow a year later, in 2002. Whether Rockstar repeats that pattern is another matter. The studio did not say what its next game will be.
What is speculation
The outlets have filled that gap with their own guesses, and they should be read as such. GamesRadar+ raises the possibility of GTA VII or a smaller spin-off. That is the outlet's idea, not Rockstar's.
IGN brings up Red Dead Redemption 3, citing two people who are not speaking for the studio. Dan Houser said a year ago that RDR3 "will probably happen", and Roger Clark, who played Arthur Morgan, said in 2023 he was "certain" it would come one day. Rockstar itself has not said it plans a third Red Dead.
So the only firm statement is about pace, not about a specific project. Faster than eight years still leaves a fairly wide range.
The next fixed point is the launch itself: Grand Theft Auto VI is due in November.
