A 2024 release date for Grand Theft Auto 6 could be likely after a recent statement from Microsoft. The last entry in the highly successful GTA franchise, Grand Theft Auto 5, was originally released almost a decade ago - although it has been re-released several times since. Although Rockstar has continued to update its online counterpart GTA Online, many fans have complained of fatigue with the title and have been eagerly awaiting a new entry in the series, which was formally announced earlier in 2022.
Although not confirmed by Rockstar, there had been rumors of a 2024 release date for GTA 6 previously. As reported by GamesRadar+, in a recent response to the UK's Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) regarding its acquisition of Activision Blizzard, Microsoft backed mentioned Rockstar's upcoming open-world crime title and backed up the rumors surrounding its release date, with the 2024 date having first been shared by Bloomberg. Microsoft has been downplaying the significance of the Activision Blizzard deal following complaints from PlayStation surrounding the possibility of titles such as Call Of Duty becoming Xbox and PC exclusives. To do this, Microsoft's main argument has been that Activision games don't make up a significant enough percentage of the market share to hurt competition, referring to other gaming giants such as GTA, as well as PlayStation's numerous first-party exclusives.
Fans Are Still Waiting For GTA 6's Release Date To Be Announced
A Bloomberg report earlier this year revealed the first bits of information surrounding GTA 6's setting and female protagonist, confirming a Bonnie and Clyde-esque duo as the game's lead characters and a return to Rockstar's fictional version of Miami seen in Grand Theft Auto: Vice City and GTA: Vice City Stories. This came following years of speculation surrounding whether the title would return to the only major Grand Theft Auto location from the series' 3D era that had yet to be covered in the HD era, or if it was going to encapsulate all the franchise's cities in one giant map that spanned America instead.
Players later got to see a glimpse of these new characters and settings when a leak revealed 90 GTA 6 videos, with the footage appearing to be taken from early in the game's development cycle. It had been speculated that GTA 6 could release in 2023, but given how reliable Bloomberg's reporting has proven - as well as the fact Microsoft has also backed that guess to the CMA - it seems like 2024 may be more likely. This would mean GTA 6 releases over a decade following Grand Theft Auto 5, and six years after the launch of Red Dead Redemption 2. This has already been the longest gap between Grand Theft Auto games to date, so when GTA 6 does eventually drop, the level of anticipation is going to be at an all-time high.
Between previous claims that PlayStation-exclusive titles such as Marvel's Wolverine would release in 2023 - something that has not been announced by its developer Insomniac - and this latest claim that Grand Theft Auto 6 will be released later, it seems as if Microsoft is predicting a strong financial half-decade for rivals Sony. Given the recent statements from Rockstar that the developer would be putting more resources into developing Grand Theft Auto 6, and the wait between franchise entries, many fans are likely hoping that Microsoft reiterating Bloomberg's report has weight, and that the upcoming title is released sooner rather than later.
Sources: Microsoft (via. GamesRadar+), Bloomberg