No other title in the history of video games has created so much hype like GTA 6. Initially slated to be released in the fall of 2025, the game’s launch has been pushed beyond the previously deemed release year. The disappointment regarding this news was hugely disappointing, but the sudden arrival of Trailer 2 overshadowed everything.
After the immense success of GTA 5 in 2013, fans started demanding its worthy successor. We have seen how long Rockstar Games titles have taken in development phases to finally become realities, but we are still unaware of the development timeline of GTA 6. Hopefully, the Take-Two CEO has shed some lights on that.
Rockstar started developing GTA 6 "in earnest" in 2020

GTA 6 begun its development phase seriously in 2020. | Image via Rockstar Games.
As previously mentioned, the hype already started building when GTA 5 broke the charts in 2013. Many fans thought that as early as in 2015, Rockstar started working for its sequel. As a result, GTA 6 was considered to have the longest development phase of any Rockstar Games title. As of now, Red Dead Redemption 2 still holds that accolade as it took approximately eight years to be developed. So, what about GTA 6 then?
In an interview with
IGN, Rockstar Game parent company Take-Two’s CEO, Strauss Zelnick, has finally explained the development tenure of GTA 6. He revealed that the development process of GTA 6 started
“in earnest” in 2020. Zelnick’s use of the
“earnest” phrase proves that 2020 might be the year that set the tone for GTA 5 development seriously, but the development process began even before that.
Red Red Redemption 2 was released in 2018, so it can be said that the pre-production phase of GTA 6 began in 2018. That means, the game is now in its 8th year of its development, and is looking to take the crown from RDR 2 of being the game having the longest development phase.
Keeping in mind the stature of GTA 6, the delay was actually beneficial for the company if we believe that the development process seriously began for the game in 2020. It’s worth noting that with the likes of extreme realism the game is promised to bring, 5 years of development time is quite less.
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