Few other games represent the astronomical leap forward that was displayed in Grand Theft Auto 3. Transitioning from a top-down 2D game into a fully 3D open-world city, GTA 3 presented gamers with a glimpse of what the future of 3D gaming could look like in 2001. While it has remained a heavyweight in the industry, and a mainstay in terms of game sales and general popularity, Grand Theft Auto has continually attempted to capture the same 'wow factor' since introducing gamers to Liberty City in its third installment. Subsequent entries in the series like Grand Theft Auto 5: Expanded and Enhanced have remained impressive overall, however, and Grand Theft Auto 6 needs to continue that tradition.
Grand Theft Auto 6's predecessor, Grand Theft Auto 5, was re-released for a third time earlier this year with Grand Theft Auto 5: Expanded and Enhanced, for PS5 and Xbox Series X/S. Featuring new graphical modes including up to 4K resolution, faster loading times, immersive 3D audio, improved framerate of up to 60 frames per second, HDR options, and ray tracing, it represents a brilliant effort from developer Rockstar Games to keep the title fresh and modern while attempting to borrow from the power of the newest console generation. The fact remains though, that this is a game that was originally developed a decade ago, and in an industry where technology becomes outdated quickly, this represents a huge period of time.
Grand Theft Auto's Lasting Success
Having long been rumored to be underway, Rockstar finally confirmed Grand Theft Auto 6 was in development earlier this year. Details are extremely scarce at the moment, and there are many questions yet to be answered. One thing is for sure though: it presents an opportunity for Rockstar Games to truly harness the power of the new console generation rather than just borrow from it, and provide something worth waiting for. Given the graphical capabilities of the PS5 and Xbox Series X/S, if truly harnessed to their potential then fans could be getting a game world that looks better than anything they have ever seen. There are few upcoming games that have higher expectations than this one.
Grand Theft Auto 5 was released in 2013, to critical acclaim. It presented one of the most realistic, lived-in open worlds at the time in Los Santos, and the fact that GTA 5 didn't feature just one protagonist was seen as a welcome change and a breath of fresh air. Gamers were accustomed to a single main playable character in previous GTA games, but here they were introduced to three, all completely different from each other, who they could switch between at any time. This subverted expectations, and paid dividends.
The launch of Grand Theft Auto Online, alongside the single-player game, was crucial in ensuring GTA 5's replayability would extend far beyond that of its predecessors. Grand Theft Auto Online is still incredibly popular today, with Rockstar Games continuing to regularly add new content.
Indeed, GTA 5's lifespan has almost become something of a running joke at this point. Having originally been launched on the PS3 and Xbox 360 in 2013, it was subsequently re-released for PS4 and Xbox One in 2014 before its 3rd re-release this year. Spanning three generations of consoles, and almost a decade in real-time years, it's no surprise that GTA 5 is not only comfortably the highest-selling game developed by Rockstar, but the second highest-selling video game ever. It has sold over 150 million copies worldwide. While several new coats of paint have certainly extended GTA 5's shelf life, and despite the best efforts of Grand Theft Auto 5: Expanded and Enhanced adding a plethora of next-gen features, ultimately the original game engine cannot be replaced.
Driving home the importance of improving on old software, 2021 saw the launch of Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy - The Definitive Edition, which was supposed to package together the ultimate versions of beloved classics GTA 3, GTA: Vice City and GTA: San Andreas, three of the most beloved games in the franchise. Unfortunately, the launch of GTA: The Trilogy- The Definitive Edition turned out to be something of a disaster. With issues ranging from a severe lack of graphical improvements to various bugs plaguing all three games, this was not the triumphant release that Rockstar Games thought it would be. Grant Theft Auto 6 needs to perform excellently on the latest consoles to earn back some lost goodwill from fans.
GTA 6 Needs to Capitalize on its Hardware
Grand Theft Auto 6 is being built from the ground up, with the hardware's true capabilities fully utilized. This is an exciting prospect, and is completely different from enhancing a decade-old game with some upgrades. Given the PS5 and Xbox Series X/S's incredible potential, specifically around advanced graphical features, load times, and online cloud gaming capabilities, Grand Theft Auto 6 finds itself in a very strong position if it uses these. While it currently has no release date, and no confirmed setting or characters, speculation puts the release window somewhere around 2024. There are signs pointing toward Rockstar Games starting to ramp up development. With both the PS5 and the Xbox Series X/S well into their 4th year of production by the time this game might release, there's no reason to expect anything other than an end product that maximizes these powerful consoles' capabilities.
GTA 5's unprecedented success means that its sequel has incredibly big boots to fill. It's probably unrealistic to imagine Grand Theft Auto 6 will span the next three console generations. However, if it takes full advantage of the hardware available, and maybe even brings back some old Grand Theft Auto features that should make a return, there's no reason why its shelf life couldn't be far longer than the average game. With the right decisions made regarding the setting, story, and gameplay mechanics, it has a great chance of providing the same lasting impression as GTA 3, which many consider to be amongst the greatest video games of all time. All eyes are now on Rockstar Games to see what it will deliver.
Grand Theft Auto 6 is currently in development.