Grand Theft Auto 6: Everything We Know So Far (December 2022)

We have covered each aspect of Grand Theft Auto 6 (GTA VI), including its release date, storyline, characters, and more. You can use the table below to explore the sections that interest you the most.
Note: This post was last updated on 15th December at 7:00 AM PST with details about the massive gameplay video leak, possible new locations, character names, and other leaked information.

GTA 6 Release Date: When is GTA 6 Coming Out?

Rockstar Games, the developer of the Grand Theft Auto franchise, first confirmed that the “next entry in the Grand Theft Auto series is well underway” in February 2022 via an official Newswire post. This post was made to announce community updates around GTA V but ended with a subtle note about the franchise’s future.
Then, later in June 2022, Rockstar Games shared an official statement stating they’re investing all their resources towards the development of GTA VI. It definitely reflects the developers’ seriousness towards the GTA franchise. This announcement puts their other projects like the GTA 4 and Red Dead Redemption remaster on hold until further notice. As you might expect, RDR fans were not rejoiced by the news. Unfortunately, neither of these dedication-filled announcements gets us close to a release date. Instead, we have to thank Chris Klippel, a famous GTA leaker, for additional information about the GTA 6 launch date. According to Klippel, GTA 6 won’t release before the last months of 2024. He is not directly affiliated with Rockstar but has made reliable GTA 5 leaks in the past.
Bloomberg reporter Jason Schreier also supported this release window in a separate Twitter thread. Keeping the speculations and lack of official announcements in mind, we believe that GTA 6 will be released in late 2024 or early 2025.

Microsoft Thinks GTA 6 Is Coming in 2024

At the time of writing this article, Microsoft is undergoing an investigation for its acquisition of Activision Blizzard. In the context of the same, the Redmond giant issued a response document to the UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA). A section in the document uses Activision’s competition to justify the lack of impact they have on the market.
While the whole acquisition controversy might not concern you, the market share section of the response talks about Take-Two Interactive, the parent company of Rockstar Games, which develops the GTA franchise. Microsoft claims that “the highly anticipated Grand Theft Auto VI is expected to be released in 2024.” Before you dismiss this estimate as just another guess, do consider the fact that Microsoft owns Windows and Xbox, which are two of the main platforms for the upcoming GTA VI. Platform owners having insider knowledge about the release of major titles isn’t as farfetched as other potential estimates.

GTA VI Potential Launch Delay

A massive data breach hit Rockstar Games on the 18th of September, 2022. This breach led to a GTA 6 leak with 90+ gameplay videos and pieces of the game’s source code becoming available to the public. Due to the same, the game’s release date can be heavily pushed back by months or even years.
Our entire team highly condemns this event as it doesn’t only affect the company but the entire gaming community. You can read our in-depth analysis of the updated GTA 6 release date article to get a new realistic estimate of its launch.

GTA V Thank You Page Goes Live!

With an aim to acknowledge the success of GTA V and the potential end of an era with the new entry of the next title, Rockstar has released a “thank you” page for GTA V and GTA Online. Here, as you can see, Rockstar thanks the players for the massive success of their titles while sharing credits with every single person who worked on them.
Such pages of gratefulness are usually followed by the announcement of the next title. So, we now expect Rockstar Games to announce the new GTA and the replacement of GTA Online within a couple of months.

Why Is Grand Theft Auto 6 (GTA 6) Delayed?

Much like any other AAA video game title’s development, GTA 6 has several elements affecting its progress and release. Among them, the major one is the COVID-19 pandemic, which halted the entire world, and the internal conflicts at Rockstar Games made them rethink their company policies and re-shuffle their team.
Though, many players also suspect that Rockstar Games is trying to milk the success and popularity of GTA 5 (and its online title) before bringing out its successor. And looking at the huge revenue of GTA 5, it isn’t surprising that the studio isn’t ready to shelf its best product just yet.
In any case, we’ve already waited for a decade, which is twice as long as the gap of five years between GTA IV and GTA V. Now, hopefully, the wait will only last for two more years. Hopefully! If the huge new leak doesn’t affect the developer’s plans.

GTA 6 Supported Platforms

The gaming industry has changed drastically within the decade-long gap between GTA 6 and GTA 5. And since Rockstar Games is known for pioneering the industry, we only expect the GTA VI to have an initial release on PS5 and Xbox Series X/S. So, it’s fair to assume that a PS4 version of GTA 6 won’t be seeing the light of day. So yes, there’s a good chance that GTA VI will be exclusive to PS5 and not be available for PS4 users. It will not be exclusive to Sony’s console, though, and most likely be available on Xbox as well.
Moreover, like GTA 5, the developers might later upgrade and port the game to PC users. Unfortunately, that might mean that GTA 6 will reach PC users only in late 2025 or early 2026. For comparison, GTA 5 was released on consoles in 2013 and on PC later in 2015. In any case, it’s less than the time it took Marvel’s Spider-Man to release on PC. However, we could be wrong if we go by the recent leak, where GTA 6 was being tested on RTX 3080 and other graphics cards. The game could launch on PC and consoles at the same time.

GTA 6 Might Be Called Just “Grand Theft Auto”

Because of the major focus on the DLC-based expansion of the world, many fans are speculating that Rockstar might use GTA 6 to restart the franchise. So, instead of a “GTA 6” title, we might be getting a game called “Grand Theft Auto”. Not to forget, Rockstar is still referring to their upcoming game as the “next entry in the GTA franchise” instead of calling it GTA 6.
This speculation got stronger when, in last August 2022, Rockstar and Take-Two Interactive removed game designer Mike Dailly’s videos around GTA 1, popularly known as “Grand Theft Auto”. It is highly unlikely that GTA 6 will take any story elements from the 2D world of GTA 1, but its title might still hold some value. Though, we will have to wait for the official announcement to clear our doubts.

Potential Grand Theft Auto Teaser

Just a day after the standalone title of “Grand Theft Auto”, Rockstar Games tweeted an image promoting a new vehicle for GTA Online users. The image doesn’t stand out at first glance. But many fans have pointed out that, if looked closely, the image teased the number “6” next to the “GTA” title. It might just be a coincidence, but considering Rockstar’s playful history, we can’t dismiss anything.

Playable Characters in GTA 6 (Names Leaked)

According to a Bloomberg report, Rockstar Games is on a spree of cleaning its image, and its efforts aren’t limited to the real world. Several ex and current employees at Rockstar Games have raised the issue of gender gap in the pay scale of their developers. If we look at the GTA franchise, the situation isn’t ideal there either. Including the expansion packs, we have sixteen games in the GTA franchise. Only two of these titles, the first two GTA games, had playable female characters. Men have entirely dominated every other iteration of the game. Fortunately, Grand Theft Auto 6 is planning to give us a female protagonist in GTA 6 along with a closely related male lead – a duo to play out the story. Bloomberg’s report further claims that this playable female character is a Latina, another positive step towards representation.
[UPDATE | 19th Sept 2022]: After the huge September 2022 leak, several Twitter users with access to the leaked footage have revealed that the two main characters will allegedly be named Jason and Lucia. They will most likely work as independent characters but might support each other in the storyline and even share parts of the inventory.

The Storyline of GTA 6 (Leaks and Rumors)

The main protagonist duo of GTA 6 is supposed to be related in some way. This duo’s story, as per the report, is inspired by the real-world crime couple – Bonnie and Clyde – from the early 1900s. But don’t worry, the upcoming game will be set in modern times, as revealed by Tom Henderson, a game leaker with a reliable record.
Back in 2020, a recently deleted Reddit post revealed more about the storyline that fits with the current information. As per the Redditor, GTA 6 was first codenamed “Project Americas,” which could take place over both American continents. But as faith would have it, this plan was only an early design that developers later scrapped. The protagonists who are supposed to build a drug empire, similar to the GTA Vice City Stories, might still make it into the game.

Chapter Based Stories

In March of 2022, Michael Pachter from Business Insider stated (via YouTube) that Grand Theft Auto 6 might cover multiple cities in 500+ hours worth of storyline. Even though there is not much proof to back Pachter’s claim, it will be a reliable redressal to players’ complaints about GTA 5 being too short. Moreover, if they use a chapter-based storyline, just like RDR2, we might get many new missions, locations, and characters as the chapters unfold. This can also suit the location-based DLCs we discuss in the next segment. Each new place can bring new chapters and, in turn, new missions and characters to the game.

GTA 6 Will Set Creative Bars For All Entertainment

Take-Two, the parent company of Rockstar, reassured the franchise’s fans of an important thing about the upcoming GTA VI game in their 2022 financial update. They released a statement claiming — “With the development of the next entry in the Grand Theft Auto series well underway, the Rockstar Games team is determined to once again set creative benchmarks for the series, our industry, and for all entertainment, just as the label has done with every one of their frontline releases.” With such a bold claim, GTA 6 is set to compete against movies, shows, and other major gaming titles, all at once. And we certainly hope that GTA 6 lives up to the creative mark. Though, only time will tell if Take-Two’s massive assertions come to life.

GTA 6 Graphics and Gameplay (Rumored)

New Game Engine

Every video game’s story is highly impacted by the capability of the engine used to develop that game. A game engine is the base platform on which the game’s world loads, functions, and interacts with the player. Keeping that in mind, Chris Klippel, the leaker who gave us GTA 6’s release timeline, has claimed that Grand Theft Auto is being developed using the new Rage engine.
This new engine is more potent than its counterpart, which powers GTA 5 and RDR2. If this claim is valid, then we can not only expect jaw-dropping graphics but also more elaborate missions. With powerful platforms and a smarter game engine, GTA 6 can give us more than the “go and kill” missions currently dominating the franchise.

GTA 6 Will Feature Photorealism

All Grand Theft Auto games have captured real life well in terms of characters, physics, and frame-by-frame locations. But now, with GTA 6, the franchise is planning to offer photorealistic graphics. At least, according to the leaker Tez2, who claimed in a community post that “VI will be very much into photorealism”. Photorealism is the process of rendering video game graphics in an extremely realistic manner. It includes ray-traced lighting, realistic water effects, and more. Though, due to the heavy performance, these realistic graphics might only make it into the PC version of GTA 6 and not the consoles.

Will GTA 6 Have Multiplayer Online Mode?

If the current GTA Online multiplayer (based on GTA V) game’s massive success is any indication, then GTA 6 Online is definitely going to happen. But we don’t just have to rely on speculations. Several new listings on Rockstar Games’ job openings website have also mentioned “online” gameplay in their descriptions. This key detail indicates the development of potential GTA 6’s online multiplayer content. Though it could also mean new content for GTA 5 Online, which is highly unlikely keeping their current team in mind.

Upcoming Single Player DLC with New Cities

Fueling the rumor of expanding maps, Tez2, a leaker with a reliable track record, has claimed that GTA 6 might feature story-based DLCs. Tez2 claimed in a GTAForums post, that instead of providing stand-alone content, the GTA VI DLCs will add new missions and cities that expand the existing stories. Moreover, the post also states that these cities will be in the form of explorable islands featuring single-player missions. Though, it won’t be surprising to see them expand into GTA Online multiplayer missions.

GTA 6 Map: Going Back to Vice City (Confirmed)

Examining all the GTA games to date, we have 2 full-scale games based in Los Santos, several different titles in Liberty City, and only one major title in Vice City. Based on that, it won’t be surprising to see GTA 6’s story play out in the iconic Vice City (map depicted above). The said rumor also fits Bloomberg’s report, which describes the location of GTA 6 to be based in Miami and its neighboring areas. Following the leaked videos shared by a hacker, many users shared the leaked footage pointing toward locations like Malibu Club and Ocean’s View Hotel making a nostalgic return with GTA Vice City. If that comes true, it won’t be surprising to see locations like Starfish Island might also make a comeback.

Caribbean Island Missions

Back in GTA San Andreas, there was a mission called “Saint Mark’s Bistro”. It is probably the most unique mission in the game because it makes us take a flight to Liberty City to kill a character. Other than this specific mission, that location wasn’t accessible in the game. Now, as per a well-known leaker, Matheusvictorbr, Rockstar might be looking to repeat this in GTA 6. He explained that a part of GTA VI will take place in the Caribbean islands, which won’t be a part of the main open world. Rockstar did something similar by introducing a secondary location called Guarma in Red Dead Redemption 2. Again, just like it was the case with GTA SA, you could only access this location during specific missions. Now, at this point, it would be too early to make an assumption as to why this location won’t be accessible in the main game. But we hope that it still makes it into GTA 6. As history reflects, more explorable places only improve the gameplay experience of open-world games.

GTA 6 Might Feature Liberty City and Carcer City

A recent report from Xfire claims that GTA 6 will feature Carcer City and Liberty City after the release of the game. Liberty City is a beloved fictional city based on the real-world New York; it has already been featured in GTA 3, GTA San Andreas, and GTA 4.
Meanwhile, Carcer City is the place where the game Manhunt is based. It is a gruesome horror game published by Rockstar Games and concluded in 2007. Manhunt could not keep up with the success of other Rockstar games, but it still managed to develop a reliable fan following. Moreover, it has been confirmed that Carcer City is located somewhere near Liberty City in the same universe as GTA games. So, it would be interesting to see GTA 6 revisiting this dark but nostalgic location. It is also worth noting that the same report claimed that both Liberty City and Carcer City won’t be part of the main GTA 6. Instead, they are going to be separate locations that the players would be able to visit, probably, after a plane ride. If we connect this report with the rumor of DLC-based locations then Liberty City and Carcer City might be the first locations that make it into the game after the release of GTA VI.

GTA VI: Three Cancelled Locations

We already know that GTA 6 has shifted away from its plan of creating “Project Americas” on its map. But as per Stephen Totilo, co-author of Axios Gaming’s newsletter, this scrapped plan was much more ambitious than what meets the eye. He claims that, as per his source, GTA 6 was supposed to have four protagonists spread across three different cities.
Compared to GTA V, it would have been an upgrade in the number of playable characters and explorable locations. But as Rockstar Games would have it, we are down to two protagonists from three in the last title.

Is GTA 6 Going International?

As mentioned earlier, the plans to expand GTA 6 to areas outside the USA were discussed early in the game’s development but scrapped. So, you won’t be traveling to Brazil or Cuba-like locations. At least, not at the time of release.

Expanding Map in GTA 6?

GTA Online’s massive success teaches its developers that players love getting new content in existing games. And Rockstar Games seems to have been taking notes. At least, according to freelance writer and GTA insider Tom Henderson, who claimed that GTA 6 will feature an expanding map back in 2021. If this claim comes true, we might see DLCs and event-based maps, expanding the world of GTA 6 over the years. Considering how popular competitive FPS games like Valorant bring new maps every few months, GTA, which focuses heavily on open-world experiences and has a considerable budget, can surely do the same.
This potential feature also fits with Rockstar co-founder Dan Houser’s statement from September 2013 in a Polygon interview. He claimed that “GTA’s DNA is contemporary-ish, American-ish, English-speaking-ish, because that’s what it has been… but that doesn’t necessarily limit it to those, that’s just what we’ve done so far.“

Detailed Interiors of Buildings

Time and again, GTA players have demanded better and more explorable interiors in the franchise. GTA Online was a massive upgrade in that department but nowhere close to covering even half of the in-game buildings. But, as per multiple reports, GTA 6 will have way more explorable interiors than any other open-world game.
If that’s the case, it would somewhat explain the decade-long delay in its release. Based on some of the DLC-based location leaks, we might see many such interiors unlock after the game’s launch.

Grand Theft Auto 6: Latest Leaks and Rumors

Note: All the information in this section is sourced from social media posts circulating all the major GTA 6 information of the September 2022 data leak. We don’t have access to the leaked material, so please take all the speculated features with a pinch of salt, and respect the developers to not download and reshare the leaked material. The entire team of Beebom highly condemns the situation.

The leaked clips, supposedly, feature references to Vice City. There are cop cars with VCPD (Vice City Police Department) on them, and a clip also showed a metro train with Vice City written on its side.Rockstar Games’ RDR2 has a feature called “eagle eye”, which allows a player to see all the interactable spots in a specific location. A similar feature might make it into GTA 6 to support its highly interactive world and make it easier for players to spot cues and items.GTA 5 featured a useable mobile phone and internet system. Now, as per leaks, GTA 6 seems to be expanding on that, as some Twitter users mention seeing a WhatUp! Messenger notification in the leaked footage. If that turns out to be true, we might see chat-based communication between characters or online players.In terms of movement, the leaked footage, supposedly, features crawling animations, along with existing crouching and the ability to take cover. Of these, only the ability to go prone and crawl is completely new. Lastly, many Twitter users also pointed out better character movement in new GTA 6 leaks. They claimed that the NPC movement in GTA 6 feels more natural, just like it was in GTA 4. Though, we are unsure if GTA 6 is bringing back GTA 4’s physics engine or has developed an entirely new one.

Weapons and Inventory

Based on the latest speculations and leaks, we expect the following weapons to be available to use in GTA 6:

GTA 6 is expected to feature limited weapon storage with one slot for each type of weapon. Though, some missions like heist-based ones can feature additional storage for looted items.Following the trend of previous games, we expect most GTA 5 weapons to make a return in GTA 6. But, as per users with access to the leaked videos, there might also be some new weapons in the game, including a torch, speargun, golf ball, tracker jammer, pool cue, and specialized golf sticks.Some social media users also claim that the leaked footage featured the ability to shoot while swimming. It is entirely new for the GTA franchise, but, just like Modern Warfare 2, we expect it to be limited to pistols only.

GTA VI: Gameplay Trailers

As of July 2022, there is no official trailer or teaser for GTA 6. But many reports suggest we might get one by the end of 2023 or early 2024. You must keep an eye out or bookmark our Grand Theft Auto guide to see the trailer or its leak first.
[UPDATE | 1st Aug 2022] – A fan-made concept trailer for GTA 6 has been making rounds of the internet, giving us a first look at what Vice City and the new areas of the GTA VI map might look like. This concept trailer is made with Unreal Engine 5, whereas Rockstar Games will employ its own RAGE Engine. It will be interesting to see how life-like and realistic the game looks when it releases.

Expectations and Speculations

With all the solid announcements and reliable leaks covered, it’s time to open your mind to other potential changes that might reach GTA 6. Since none of these speculations have a solid backing, it’s best to take them with a pinch of salt.

Tommy Vercetti: If GTA 6 is to take place in Vice City, many players might expect homage or references to the beloved Tommy Vercetti, the protagonist of GTA Vice City. But since GTA V didn’t pay tribute to CJ, the protagonist of GTA SA, our hopes aren’t high.“Woke” Characters: Reflecting the real world, many GTA characters aren’t really afraid to make offensive remarks and jokes in the storyline. We might see a few characters calling our protagonists out on such behavior if nothing else. But witnessing Rockstar Games’ attempt to clean up its image recently, we expect some capping on such offensive remarks.Character Customization: Even though it might be limited to GTA 6 Online, we expect to get a new reliable character creator. This option, combined with GTA’s graphics, will allow players to get a videogame character that resembles them as closely as possible.Custom Maps: Thanks to the fantastic GTA 5 mods, it is a known fact that the GTA community has several talented creators. And if GTA 6 wants to take full advantage of them, then inviting downloadable community maps is a must. Even if they won’t, the community will keep creating them for years.

What Do You Expect From GTA 6

Now that you know every reliable leak, news, and detail about GTA 6 available online so far, it’s time to wait for more information and the gameplay trailer. We are still months, if not years, away from any solid information about the next GTA installment. But that wouldn’t stop us from sharing our expectations from the franchise in the meantime. Who knows, some ideas might even reach the developers. With that hope in mind, what do you want to see in GTA 6? Tell us in the comments!