The torturous wait for an official announcement of Grand Theft Auto 6, and it’s anyone’s guess just how much longer it’ll drag on, and with Rockstar seemingly being in no mood to share details on the long-awaited open world title just yet, fans are continuing to look at alternative sources that might give an indication of what to expect from the game.
For instance, a Rockstar patent recently discovered by a Reddit user seems to point to a new animation system being implemented in Grand Theft Auto 6. The patent, published by Tobias Kleanthous – who formerly worked at Rockstar on animations – describes a new locomotion system that would be built around a library of animation blocks that would be separate from the game’s core code, that the game could pull from organically to stitch together contextual in-game animations for characters and objects.
Potentially, this could mean that GTA 6 will make use of more realistic and lifelike animations, where how characters are moving will vary based on a variety of factors, like whether or not they’re injured or exhausted, what their role in the game’s world is, what situation they currently find themselves in, and the like.
Of course, patents don’t necessarily always materialize and are often just cases of companies protecting their ideas, but given the fact that Rockstar has traditionally been known for pushing the envelope where animation technology in its games is concerned, we wouldn’t be surprised to see it taking further steps forward with its next flagship release.
When that release will arrive is anyone’s best guess, but previous comments by Take-Two Interactive CEO Strauss Zelnick have suggested that the game could be targeting a launch sometime during FY 2024/25.
Meanwhile, recent reports have also claimed that GTA 6 will also boast real-time physically simulated water, more realistic weather effects, physics-based rendering for lighting, and more. Read more on that through here.
