It is no secret that Grand Theft Auto 6 (GTA 6) is one of the most highly anticipated video games, sparking immense excitement and anticipation among GTA gamers.
When Rockstar Games, the developer of the GTA series, released the first trailer of GTA 6 on its official YouTube channel in December 2023, it went on to become the third-most viral video with 93 million views within 24 hours and the most-liked game trailer with 8.9 million views.
Further, GTA 6 will be exclusive to the PlayStation 5 (PS5) and Microsoft Xbox Series X/S and is expected to be compatible with the anticipated PS5 Pro.
While there were speculations that GTA 6 could be pushed for a 2026 release as the game’s development faced challenges, Take-Two Interactive, Rockstar Games’ parent company, put these rumors to rest last month when it confirmed in its latest financial report that GTA 6 should see a ‘Fall’ 2025 release window, indicating a release between September 2025 and November 2025.
For those unaware, GTA 6’s previous installment, Grand Theft Auto 5 (GTA 5), was launched in 2013. If GTA 6 were to release in 2025, there would be a 12-year gap between it and GTA 5, making it the longest stretch between major iterations of its franchise.
Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick Spills Beans On GTA 7
While GTA 6 is yet to be released, Strauss Zelnick, Take-Two Interactive’s CEO, recently jokingly mentioned GTA 7 during the TD Cowen 52nd Annual Technology, Media & Telecom Conference (via Rockstar Intel).
When the conference host asked Zelnick about future plans, the executive jokingly said, “GTA 7.”
More specifically, Zelnick was asked if Rockstar would prefer to avoid having another 12-year gap between two installments of the GTA series. Ex: GTA 5 and GTA 6
“It is important to bear in mind that it’s not like Rockstar put out GTA V and sat on their hands for 12 years, right? We launched GTA Online. That’s turned into a massive, living, breathing ecosystem which continues to perform and grow to this day,” he said.
“So the label totally transformed from a label that made big, standalone, monolithic, games […] to a label that’s now in the live services business. I do think given the scale of that label, it’s a huge company itself, there isn’t much more to be done.”
“This isn’t a situation where it is 12 years of girth of product, there’s 12 years where Rockstar has been putting out a mass amount of content. And another little title called Red Dead [2].”
Although Zelnick’s statement does not provide much concrete evidence about GTA 7, it does show Rockstar’s long-term responsibility to the GTA franchise.