While UK public records have caused some to balk at the supposed budget for Grand Theft Auto 6, another notable revelation is the length of its development cycle. Take-Two Interactive claims it began “in earnest” in 2020, but recent documents indicate millions spent from March 31st, 2019, onwards.
And if you believe rumors of a reboot in 2020…well, it’s anyone’s guess how far back it truly began. We’re free to speculate as to why, but former audio engineer Rob Carr offered his own take on the long development cycle: The RAGE Engine, or rather, Rockstar North revamping it from the ground up.
“I’ve got zero experience,” he told Kiwi Talks in a recent interview. “I know nothing about it, other than the fact that they probably will have – given the time frame of how long it’s taken them to get to this stage, they’ve probably rebuilt the entirety of the Rage Engine. That’s the only thing I can say with real, genuine confidence.
“I’ll be amazed if they didn’t because the architecture of technology has advanced significantly since GTA 5, which again, is easy to forget. That was three generations ago. That was the last one to be released on 360 and PS3. You know, everyone forgets that because it’s still…up until recently, GTA Online was still a going concern. That’s a good tenure for a game for any game, you know, and that’s on the PS5.”
Between a former graphics programmer claiming they worked on “next generation procedural breaking glass” and rumors of realistic weather and real-time, physically simulated water, it wouldn’t be too surprising. However, it’s also possible that some things seen in Grand Theft Auto 5 could make their way over to Grand Theft Auto 6.
“There are things for sure I feel that they did in GTA 5 that they will definitely want to expand on and use as either a core mechanic or a main plot point or something in GTA 6. I’d be incredibly surprised if they don’t do anything like that. I’d be very, very surprised. But again, I’m coming in blind.”
While Red Dead Redemption 2 was mentioned as another title that Rockstar could potentially take from, Carr cited mechanics like Dead Eye from the first game and how it appeared in GTA 5. “Even on GTA 5, they took the Dead Eye system, and they used it as one of the perks.
“You’ve got the Dead Eye thing that Michael used. I think you’ve got the slow-mo driving thing for Franklin and the Berserker mode for Trevor. You know, they’re all things that, you know, key things that they’ve been used in previous sort of titles that they wanted to sort of expand upon.”
It would be interesting if certain mechanics from Grand Theft Auto Online also made an appearance (besides in what multiplayer mode Rockstar has included). For now, Grand Theft Auto 6 is slated to launch on November 19th for PS5 and Xbox Series X/S. With launch marketing beginning this Summer, it’s not long before we learn more, so stay tuned.
