Grand Theft Auto 6 is easily one of the most exciting things happening in the video games industry this year, rivaled only by the imminent Nintendo Switch 2 launch. But while the GTA 6 price might have leaked recently, don’t expect news about the game’s mysterious release date to be announced anytime soon.
GTA 6 should launch this fall, according to Take-Two’s announcement from last May, and the company isn’t going to be more specific anytime soon. Since fall spans several months, there’s no telling when Take-Two will finally start selling GTA 6.
It’s a safe bet that the GTA 6 release will happen well ahead of Christmas, which would make the game one of the most coveted gifts during the holiday shopping season, but that’s just speculation. It turns out that a late GTA 6 release date reveal is all part of Take-Two’s strategy.
Take-Two CEO and Chairman Strauss Zelnick talked to Bloomberg about his company’s various gaming endeavors, and Grand Theft Auto 6 came up several times during the interview.
Zelnick explained what goes into making hits like GTA 6 and why there has been such a long gap between GTA 5 and the highly anticipated sequel. The exec said that Rockstar Games is aiming for perfection, and that sort of work takes time, especially when it comes to making a successor for a beloved game like GTA 5:
The reflection of that approach is in the success of Grand Theft Auto 5, which has actually excelled in three console generations, which is extraordinary. And today it’s still the standard bearer for the industry, even though it was launched so many years ago. And that’s kind of astonishing in a business where the technology is continuing to change at a pretty steep rate.
Of course, the success of GTA Online is another reason to delay the sequel to GTA 5. According to Zelnick, both GTA 5 and the online experience are still very popular with gamers.
The exec also said that Rockstar is testing GTA 6 with gamers just like movie studious would screen test upcoming releases. Zelnick also talked about marketing plans for the upcoming game, saying Take-Two will focus on social media, outdoor marketing, but also direct emails to gamers who might want to purchase the game as soon as it’s out.
When pressed about the GTA 6 release date, which remains a mystery to this day, Zelnick explained why Take-Two isn’t in a hurry to announce a date yet. It’s all about keeping up the anticipation for Zelnick.
“The anticipation for that title may be the greatest anticipation I’ve ever seen for an entertainment property,” the CEO said. “And I’ve been around the block a few times and I’ve been in every entertainment business there is, and we want to maintain the anticipation and the excitement. And we do have competitors who will describe their release schedule for years in advance.”
Zelnick continued, “We found that the better thing to do is to provide marketing materials relatively close to the release window in order to create that excitement on the one hand and balance the excitement with unmet anticipation. I don’t always get it exactly right, but that’s what we’re trying to do.”
The CEO made these GTA 6 release date remarks right at the end of the interview below, but you should consider watching the full 30-minute clip to get a sense of what Take-Two’s daily gaming operations look like.
