I was partway through writing this article about the recently-announced delay to Grand Theft Auto VI when Rockstar unexpectedly released the game’s second teaser trailer – so bear with me while I re-write a few sentences and shuffle things around!
The delay to Grand Theft Auto VI is going to be disappointing to a lot of people – but it’s also unquestionably the right call. Developer Rockstar Games is well-known in the industry for its abusive “crunch” practices in the run-up to big launches, so anything that potentially mitigates that and makes the working environment better for people is a hugely positive thing. Given Rockstar and Take-Two’s insane financial resources, and the continued revenue stream from Grand Theft Auto V’s online mode, there’s absolutely no justification for pushing to meet a self-imposed, arbitrary release window. If the game needs more time and more work, then delaying it is the right move.
Grand Theft Auto VI has been delayed to May 2026.
From a gameplay perspective, a delay is the right call, too. Since internet connectivity became commonplace on home consoles in the Xbox 360/PlayStation 3 days, more and more corporations have taken what I call the “release now, fix later” approach to game design – releasing a broken, unfinished game with the promise of patches and updates later to smooth things out. This rarely works as intended, and there are so many examples of games which should’ve been good that ended up being soiled by a poor launch. Even success stories, like Cyberpunk 2077, are still tainted for a lot of players, and will always have a little asterisk next to them explaining that, while the final version of the game may have been great, the launch version was piss-poor.
I don’t have any “insider information” from Take-Two or Rockstar, so I don’t know what might’ve been going on behind the scenes to prompt this delay. There wasn’t even an official release date for Grand Theft Auto VI, just a vague “2025” from the original announcement. As I said at the time, a delay felt like a reasonable prospect, so I’m not particularly surprised by the news. A second delay from spring to autumn 2026 also feels plausible – so watch this space, I guess!
Part of the game’s open world as seen in the recent trailer.
I’ve said it before and I’ll undoubtedly say it again: game delays are a good thing and should be celebrated, not criticised. I get it: it’s never fun when you hear that a game you’re excited about is going to be delayed, but if it means the finished product will be better (and, y’know, actually finished) then it’s going to be worth it. A game as large as Grand Theft Auto VI purports to be will take time for QA testers to work through, and I’m content to give Rockstar and Take-Two additional time to polish the experience and launch a better, more stable, less glitchy game. Even if that means waiting a year or two!
Thankfully, the reaction to delays from most players and fans these days is mature and acknowledges that simple reality. I think all of us have been burned at least once by a buggy, glitch-riddled, clearly unfinished game – and nobody wants to go through that again! There will be some upset players, of course, but I think most folks are mature enough to understand that this news, while it may be disappointing, will ultimately mean the launch version of Grand Theft Auto VI will be more polished and just an all-around better experience.
Hopefully Grand Theft Auto VI’s delay will result in a better finished product.
I do have a couple of things to add about the game, though, particularly now that we’ve seen the second teaser trailer.
Firstly, I’m a little disappointed that we still haven’t actually seen any bona fide gameplay in any of the marketing material that Rockstar and Take-Two have released so far. Both teaser trailers may be comprised of “in-engine footage,” but they show cut-scenes, carefully-curated clips, and content that may have been rendered especially for the game’s marketing. What we haven’t seen is any actual gameplay, and while you might say that’s fair enough if the game is more than a year away from launch, Grand Theft Auto VI was, until a few days ago, on the schedule for this year. I would’ve expected to see some glimpse of its gameplay by now, especially with Rockstar preparing that second trailer.
Any idiot can put together cut-scenes, clips, and pre-rendered artwork and make a compelling trailer. Trust me, I used to work in games marketing, so I know what it takes to showcase even the worst and most uninspired titles! Some absolutely atrocious games look decent in their own marketing material, and it’s a bit of a red flag for a game to have potentially been a few months or even just a few weeks away from launch with no gameplay on show.
Any game can look exciting with a carefully edited trailer comprised of pre-rendered cut-scenes and CGI.
This leads into my next point. I… I don’t feel blown away by anything we’ve seen from Grand Theft Auto VI so far. With the caveat that we still haven’t seen any official gameplay, the pre-rendered footage and cut-scenes that have been shown off just haven’t really stood out to me as being particularly special. There are some fantastic-looking games at the moment, particularly in the third-person action/adventure space, and for a game that Take-Two may genuinely try to sell for $100… I haven’t really seen anything in the Grand Theft Auto VI footage that could come close to justifying that.
That doesn’t mean I think the game “looks bad” or will be unenjoyable. But rather that I’d say it doesn’t look like anything special compared to the current crop of AAA titles on the market. Elden Ring, the remastered version of The Last of Us Part II, Alan Wake II, and even Rockstar’s own Red Dead Redemption II – which is now six-and-a-half years old – don’t feel particularly far behind what I’ve seen of Grand Theft Auto VI. Considering the upcoming game’s price point and all the hype around it, I would’ve expected to see a bit more by now to really sell me on why this’ll be a “once-in-a-generation experience;” the kind of thing I can’t afford to miss out on.
Nothing on show has really blown me away so far.
Grand Theft Auto VI looks like it’s going to be an outlaw story; a “modern-day Bonnie and Clyde,” with protagonists Jason and Lucia starting from a low point but taking Vice City by storm. I like that idea in theory, though a narrative can be hard to judge at this distance! But what I really want to see from Grand Theft Auto VI is its world. The characters and the story are incredibly important, of course, but that’s something I’ll discover for myself as I play the game. At this point in the marketing, we need to get a feel for the scale and depth of the world, and start to see what new gameplay features might be included.
Red Dead Redemption II is Rockstar’s magnum opus, and one of the finest games I’ve ever played. But after more than six years – seven going on eight by the time Grand Theft Auto VI actually launches – and an entire console generation, we should be seeing improvements. Grand Theft Auto V was originally released in 2013 on the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, and players who skipped Red Dead Redemption II will be expecting much more significant improvements and changes. So far, from a couple of pre-rendered trailers, I’m just not feeling much of that.
Jason and Lucia – the game’s protagonists.
I don’t doubt that Grand Theft Auto VI will be a good game – but with the level of hype that’s been swirling around the project for over a decade at this point, will it be a great one? Can it possibly live up to these sky high expectations – and its rumoured $2 billion budget? If the game is on par with other open world titles from the last few years, will that be good enough for players who’ve been waiting for it for such a long time? These are the questions that Rockstar and Take-Two will have to answer – and the marketing campaign so far, while it’s admittedly at an early stage, hasn’t exactly dazzled me.
For those inclined to seek out such things, there are leaked videos and images of Grand Theft Auto VI – some dating back several years. I don’t want to judge the game based on leaks; having worked in the games industry in the past, I know the final build of a game can differ substantially from early versions! But the leaks are undeniably part of the conversation – and again… nothing’s really blowing me away. I see what looks to be a solid third-person action/adventure game, similar in tone and style to Grand Theft Auto V thanks to the familiar tropical setting, and… that’s it. Pre-judging a game based on leaks is silly, but what I’ve seen so far reminds me why I thought it would’ve been better for Grand Theft Auto VI to have been set in a different environment and possibly even in an earlier time period, too.
Should Grand Theft Auto VI have been set in a different city without a beach and palm trees?
You might remember me talking about this years ago. Before we had any official news about Grand Theft Auto VI, I said that I feared a modern-day story set in another tropical city by the beach might just be too samey and too familiar, and wouldn’t do much to give players invested in Grand Theft Auto V a reason to switch. Time will tell, of course, but I wonder if part of the reason why I don’t feel so enthused by the recent trailer (and the leaked footage) is because of how samey and familiar parts of it feel.
So that’s it for now. Grand Theft Auto VI has been delayed – and while that isn’t exactly fun, it’s good news in my book. I’d rather play a better, more polished version of the game a year later than a broken, buggy, unfinished version a year early. As to the story, setting, and gameplay, though… I’m not sure. I’m confident the game will be fun, and that could be good enough, I suppose. But for a game which could end up being the most expensive ever, raising the price of AAA games across the board, and after such a long wait in between titles? Rockstar and Take-Two still have work to do to convince me Grand Theft Auto VI will be worth the price of admission.
Oh, and there’s still not gonna be a simultaneous PC release, which is pretty shitty behaviour from Rockstar and Take-Two.
Grand Theft Auto VI is currently in development and is currently targeting a May 2026 release date. Grand Theft Auto VI is the copyright of Rockstar Games and Take-Two Interactive. This article contains the thoughts and opinions of one person only and is not intended to cause any offence.
I recently read an article about the price of the highly-anticipated upcoming video game Grand Theft Auto VI. According to the journalist, a number of analysts and businesspeople in the games industry are “hoping” that Take-Two Interactive and Rockstar will price Grand Theft Auto VI higher than the current $70/£70 that has become standard since 2020. The reason for this is simple: it will open the door for other publishers to follow suit, increasing the prices of games across the board.
To me, that sounds absolutely repulsive. The corporations that make up the games industry have literally never made more profit than they’re making right now. Even expensive failures like Concord last year hardly registered as a blip on the charts; these corporations are making money hand over fist in a way they could’ve only dreamed of a few short years ago.
The games industry has never been richer and more profitable.
So today I’d like to propose a counter-argument: Grand Theft Auto VI should be free-to-play for everyone.
First of all, let’s clear up this myth surrounding the so-called standard price of video games. In most cases – and especially for AAA games released through corporate publishers – £70 only gets your foot in the door. The true price of fully feature-complete games has been well above £70 for years, and it’s only getting worse. So-called “premium editions” or “deluxe editions” aren’t giving players something extra, they’re cutting out content that was developed alongside the game, fully-integrated into it, and selling it back to us for a premium fee. Some of these special editions can be well over £100 – so that’s the true price tag of most AAA video games in 2025.
We’ve seen a recent trend in which AAA publishers are adding “early” access into deluxe editions of games, too. Charging players extra to play the game on its real release date instead of up to a week later is pretty shitty when you think about it, and just another way that corporations like Take-Two – and others in the AAA space – exploit their players.
Take-Two’s own NBA 2K series comes with “standard” and “all-star” editions, the latter having more content.
Grand Theft Auto VI will have a single-player campaign, and although Take-Two has cheaped out on development, cutting off PC players for some incomprehensible reason, I gotta confess that I’m genuinely looking forward to playing it. The Grand Theft Auto series has usually been good fun, and I’ve been playing since the first title was released in the late ’90s. Remember playing the first Grand Theft Auto with its top-down view? Those were the days, eh?
But let’s be honest: Grand Theft Auto VI is, first and foremost, a multiplayer title. That’s how Rockstar and Take-Two see it, and after the rampant success of Grand Theft Auto V’s online mode, they’re not wrong about that.
In-game sales, like these Shark Cards for Grand Theft Auto V, are where Take-Two and Rockstar will make the most money.
Grand Theft Auto V isn’t just any online multiplayer game, though. It’s a game that has been monetised to death, incorporating basically every scummy pay-to-win trend going – and pioneering new ones that other corporations in the games industry have latched onto like parasites. Most games that charge players real money for an in-game currency, skins, cosmetic items, and particularly that charge for gameplay-enhancing vehicles, weapons, and items have something in common: they’re free.
So to reiterate: Grand Theft Auto VI should be free-to-play, and Take-Two should be content with making all of the money in the world from sales of in-game currency and pay-to-win items. Charging even £1 for the game up-front – let alone £90 or £100 as some corporate leaders are soiling themselves in anticipation over – just feels obscene for a game that’s going to be monetised to hell and back.
A flock of flamingoes from the Grand Theft Auto VI trailer.
By including all of these pay-to-win mechanics, Take-Two and Rockstar want to have it all. They want to charge players money up-front, then keep charging them for in-game items, currency, and more. But that isn’t a fair approach – most publishers pick one or the other, and with Grand Theft Auto VI clearly having an online focus, it’s only right that it’s made available for free to everyone who wants to play it.
Do I think that’s a realistic outcome? Well… why not? Corporations are gonna try to grab as much cash as possible, of course, and there will be some desperately disappointed analysts, executives, and investors if Grand Theft Auto VI goes free-to-play from day one. But it would also be a statement; Rockstar and Take-Two could argue that they’re taking a stand and win some free positive PR in the process. Given that the overwhelming bulk of the money Grand Theft Auto V had made (and Grand Theft Auto VI intends to make) comes from in-game transactions anyway, it wouldn’t actually be a huge loss to Take-Two. Grand Theft Auto VI will still be hugely profitable.
Grand Theft Auto VI should be free.
So that’s my proposal! Forget these desperate attempts to start the base price of the game at £80 or £90 and just go free-to-play. It’s the right thing to do for an online multiplayer game that’s sure to be crammed with pay-to-win mechanics, an in-game currency, and more cosmetic items and skins than you can count. It would also be a wonderful middle finger to corporate leaders, investors, and analysts who are already making more money than they’ve ever made before and are just being greedy. Plus, from Take-Two’s point of view, it would be a marketing and PR masterstroke if handled well.
So go on, Take-Two and Rockstar! It’s the right thing to do, it’s bound to score you plenty of free publicity and positive press, and it would be hilarious to boot. The Grand Theft Auto series has long satirised corporate America, get-rich-quick schemes, and greed… so why not pull the ultimate power move by making the newest entry in the series totally free for everyone to play? I think it’s a fantastic idea!
Will Grand Theft Auto VI really be free-to-play? Maybe we should start a rumour that it will be and see how panicked the games industry and its corporate overlords get!
Grand Theft Auto VI is still in development and is planned to be released on Xbox Series S/X and PlayStation 5 consoles in late 2025. Grand Theft Auto VI is the copyright of Rockstar Games and/or Take-Two Interactive Software. This article contains the thoughts and opinions of one person only and is not intended to cause any offence.
Multiple sources have reported on the “hope” in the games industry for a price hike from Take-Two and Rockstar when Grand Theft Auto VI launches. I’ve linked a handful below.
Spoiler Warning: Minor spoilers may be present for some of the games on this list.
The recent trailer for Grand Theft Auto 6 has got a lot of gamers salivating! We really ought to try and avoid boarding the hype train, but with Grand Theft Auto 6 being the long-overdue sequel to the most successful and profitable video game of all-time, a bit of excitement is understandable! However, the game won’t launch until sometime in 2025 – and probably even later for PC players like me, unfortunately – so until then we’re all facing a dilemma: what should we play?
I’ve picked out ten games that I think could be fun substitutes for Grand Theft Auto 6. I’ve tried to avoid the most obvious pick: Grand Theft Auto V! But I’ve selected games in the same open-world space, with comparable driving and third-person action gameplay, or with a focus on crime and criminality. There are bound to be hundreds of “what to play before GTA 6” lists floating around… so you may have seen some of these ideas already. But maybe – just maybe – there’ll be something a bit different in the mix this time!
Vice City after dark.
As always, this list is the entirely subjective opinion of one person only! If you hate all of my ideas, think they’re too obvious, or you’ve seen a far better selection of games elsewhere – that’s okay! There’s no need to take anything too personally or get into an argument.
I’ve already shared my thoughts on the recent trailer for Grand Theft Auto 6, and you can find that article by clicking or tapping here.
With all of that out of the way, let’s get started!
Game #1: Saints Row 2 (2008)
Running and gunning!
For me, Saints Row 2 is where the series managed to strike the right balance between being a pure “GTA-clone” and the utter silliness and wackiness that would come to define its later entries. There was an attempt to reboot the Saints Row series earlier this year, but unfortunately it wasn’t well-received so I can’t recommend it. But if you don’t mind stepping back to the Xbox 360 era, Saints Row 2 could scratch that open-world crime itch!
Saints Row 2 is comparable to Grand Theft Auto 4 in terms of graphics and gameplay – but with a less-realistic physics engine that seemed (to me, anyway) to make driving a bit more arcadey and fun. It also has a bit more of a grounded story when contrasted with later Saints Row games – there’s no visiting Hell or battling aliens from outer space in this one. There’s an open-world city to cruise around, cars to jack, missions to get stuck into, and basically all of the Grand Theft Auto trappings with a less-illustrious name attached. It was great fun in 2008 – and although I haven’t played it in a while, it’s still a game I heartily recommend!
Game #2: Sleeping Dogs: Definitive Edition (2012; 2014)
Wei Shen in Hong Kong.
Sleeping Dogs takes the Grand Theft Auto formula but puts two very distinctive spins on it. Firstly, the player character is a cop, not a criminal – albeit an undercover cop who seems to have no qualms about breaking a few laws! And secondly, the game is set in Hong Kong, not the United States. Both of these elements help it stand out from other open-world crime games!
You’ll occasionally hear Sleeping Dogs discussed in conversations about underrated games – and rightly so! It’s a fantastic title that was criminally under-appreciated when it was released. The game’s underwhelming sales at launch led to the cancellation of a potential sequel – but Sleeping Dogs is still a fantastic standalone experience. If you play on PC, the game is frequently available at a steep discount during Steam sales, and with the winter sale coming up soon, you might be able to pick it up for less than the price of a coffee. Surely it’s worth a shot for a few pounds or dollars!
Game #3: Expeditions: A Mudrunner Game (2024)
Driving up-river!
You won’t have to wait too long for this sequel to Mudrunner and Snowrunner; it’s due for release in March. I’ve had a surprisingly fun time with Saber Interactive’s off-road vehicle simulation games, so if the driving side of Grand Theft Auto is what you liked the most, I’d happily recommend all three. If you’re sick of racing games and are looking for a different kind of vehicular challenge, Mudrunner, Snowrunner, and the upcoming Expeditions could be just what the doctor ordered!
Snowrunner has several large open maps and plenty of vehicles to choose from – and the off-road part of the driving simulation is really the focus of the game. I expect Expeditions will do something similar – but according to the developers, it’ll also be adding new features like a recon drone, metal detector, and of course, new vehicles!
Game #4: Red Dead Redemption II (2018)
Howdy, partner!
Alright, I suppose we couldn’t put together a list like this without talking about Rockstar’s most recent title! Red Dead Redemption II is, in my humble opinion, Rockstar’s magnum opus – and one of the most incredible video games ever made. If you haven’t played it… what are you waiting for? I’ve only played it once, and I’m seriously considering going around for a second playthrough sometime soon.
Red Dead Redemption II takes Rockstar’s open-world formula to the 19th Century, with an incredible map based on parts of the American midwest, the Rocky Mountains, the Deep South, and more. The single-player campaign features one of the best stories ever told in a video game, with incredible characters and an intense, deeply emotional narrative. I can understand being put off by the time period if you’re craving a game set in the modern day… but give it a shot, especially if you can find it at a discount. I really don’t think you’ll be disappointed!
Game #5: Crime Boss: Rockay City (2023)
Outer space exists because it’s afraid to be on the same planet as Chuck Norris.
I’d argue that Crime Boss: Rockay City was unfairly criticised upon release by folks who’d either over-hyped it or had set the wrong expectations. If you go into it expecting a first-person Grand Theft Auto experience with all of the bells and whistles of a Rockstar game… sure, I guess it’s fair to say it comes up short. But if you look at the game for what it is – a fairly straightforward and linear FPS that’s more comparable, in some respects, to the Payday series – there are more than enough charming features to make it worth playing.
Crime Boss: Rockay City has voice acting from the likes of Chuck Norris and Danny Trejo, and its ’90s setting is something a bit nostalgic. The game is also set in a fictional city based on Miami – just like a certain upcoming crime game that we’re all looking forward to! Crime Boss: Rockay City is reasonably priced, and didn’t try to overcharge. That being said, it could well be available at a discount when holiday sales get going this month – so keep an eye on it!
Game #6: Cyberpunk 2077 + Phantom Liberty (2020; 2023)
The view from V’s apartment.
As I said recently, I never thought I’d be in a position where I could recommend Cyberpunk 2077 to anyone in good conscience! However, the addition of the game’s big 2.0 update and the Phantom Liberty DLC has been a game-changer – quite literally! Cyberpunk 2077 had been slowly but surely rebuilding its reputation after a disastrous launch three years ago, and by the time I got around to fully playing through it, the worst and most egregious of the bugs and glitches had been fixed. But the 2.0 update and Phantom Liberty have genuinely transformed the experience.
Many of the complaints that I had about Cyberpunk 2077′s gameplay – from the way clothing and armour worked to how police would randomly spawn in Night City – have been addressed and completely fixed, and the addition of a new story campaign has been fantastic, too. I can understand not wanting to play the game or to support a developer who behaved deceitfully – and we should never forget how CD Projekt Red acted in the run-up to the game’s release. But if you haven’t played Cyberpunk 2077 yet… you are honestly missing out on a great story and a fun experience.
Game #7: Grand Theft Auto: Vice City (2002)
Protagonist Tommy Vercetti.
Is this one too obvious? With a return to Vice City on the cards in 2025, it could be fun to step back in time to see its first appearance! I really enjoyed Vice City at the time – it felt like a step up from Grand Theft Auto III with a bigger map, more vehicles, and a fully-voiced protagonist. I’d go so far as to say that Vice City’s homage to the likes of Scarface and Miami Vice has me genuinely questioning how well Grand Theft Auto 6 will work when it takes the iconic Miami-inspired city out of the ’80s and into the modern day.
If you grew up on Grand Theft Auto V and other games of that generation, stepping back to Vice City could feel like a downgrade – and I fully appreciate that. But the game has a fun story, and if you can overlook the admittedly outdated graphics and the technological limitations that come with a two-decade-old game, it’s absolutely worth playing. I had a blast with it in 2002 – and knowing that that was more than twenty years ago makes me feel absolutely fucking ancient!
Game #8: Shenmue I & II (1999; 2001)
A promo poster showing some of the games’ characters.
Before Grand Theft Auto III came along, the original Shenmue on the Dreamcast was an early open-world pioneer. In some ways, its world is more detailed than even Grand Theft Auto V’s, with a day-night cycle that actually matters to characters’ schedules, dynamic weather, mini-games, and more. I absolutely adored Shenmue back when I owned a Dreamcast – and I never miss an opportunity to recommend the game to players who might’ve missed it when it was new.
Shenmue tells a compelling story of revenge. Protagonist Ryo Hazuki must track down the man who murdered his father, and his quest takes him from his home town in Japan across the sea to Hong Kong and beyond. It’s a relatively slow-paced game with a lot of dialogue and investigating, but these sections are broken up by intense hand-to-hand combat battles that use a variety of martial arts moves, as well as quick-time events… which Shenmue can claim to have invented. For better or worse! Both games are available in one package, and this could be another one to add to your wishlist and keep an eye on.
Game #9: Mafia: Definitive Edition (2002; 2020)
Promo screenshot of Mafia: Definitive Edition.
When I first played Mafia on the original Xbox, I thought it was basically going to be “Grand Theft Auto in the ’30s” – but that hardly does it justice. The game – and its two sequels – have been remade from the ground up in recent years, putting to shame Rockstar’s appalling Grand Theft Auto III Trilogy “remaster” from a couple of years ago. Of the three, the original Mafia is probably the title I’d recommend most highly – but the entire trilogy can be picked up as one set.
All of the elements of a Grand Theft Auto game are present, but the ’30s setting and heavy focus on the titular mob makes for a completely different kind of story. Many of the gameplay elements will be familiar, but different and distinct enough to make this open-world crime title stand out from the crowd. I enjoyed the story of Tommy Angelo, a “made man” in the mob, and Mafia: Definitive Edition is an easy game to recommend to any fan of the GTA series.
Game #10: Baldur’s Gate 3 (2023)
Ready to roll some dice?
I know, I know: this one’s a bit “out there,” as Baldur’s Gate 3 seems to have very little in common with the Grand Theft Auto series. It’s a completely different style of game – but as players, we’re willing and able to try out new experiences, right? If you’re at all interested in games with incredibly strong and compelling narratives, give Baldur’s Gate 3 a chance to show you why it’s my “game of the year.”
A turn-based role-playing game with a branching storyline, incredibly fun characters, and one of the best character creators I’ve ever seen, Baldur’s Gate 3 seemed to come out of nowhere this year and completely blew me away. I had an absolute blast playing it this summer and autumn, and even after sinking more than eighty-five hours into a single playthrough, there are characters I haven’t met, whole areas of the map that I missed and didn’t explore, and so much more to try! I really need to start that second playthrough sometime soon!
So that’s it!
Characters on the beach as seen in the Grand Theft Auto 6 trailer.
We’ve taken a look at ten games to play while you wait for Grand Theft Auto 6. I hope I managed to pick one or two that you might not have been expecting! I’m sure I’m not the only one putting together lists or compilations like this one; there’s a lot of buzz around the next Grand Theft Auto title, and people are definitely going to be looking around for comparable experiences in the meantime. If I helped even one person find one game to try, then I’ve done my job and contributed something positive to the discussion!
Because I play on PC – and because Rockstar, despite its insane financial resources, is cheaping out on Grand Theft Auto 6′s PC release – it might be 2026 or even 2027 before I’ll be able to get my hands on it. I might not live that long… but if I do, I hope you’ll swing by Trekking with Dennis for a review! If there’s significant news about the game between now and then, I’ll do my best to cover it and discuss it here on the website. And if you missed it, you can find everything I had to say about the December 2023 trailer by clicking or tapping here.
Have fun out there – and happy gaming!
Grand Theft Auto 6 is currently in development and will be released on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series S/X in 2025. No PC release date has been set. All titles discussed above are the copyright of their respective studio, developer, and/or publisher. Some promotional screenshots courtesy of IGDB. This article contains the thoughts and opinions of one person only and is not intended to cause any offence.
If you haven’t heard that Rockstar just confirmed the worst-kept secret in gaming – that Grand Theft Auto 6 is in production – then you must be living under a rock! The news has been everywhere in recent days, and even made it into mainstream (i.e. non-gaming) news outlets here in the UK. It makes sense: Grand Theft Auto V is one of the best-selling entertainment products of all time, eclipsing films, television shows, and even entire franchises. What comes next is going to be of interest to a great many people.
It’s been eight months since I last looked ahead to Grand Theft Auto 6, and with the game’s official announcement doing the rounds I thought it could be fun to put together a short wishlist of things I’d personally like to see the next entry include. It goes without saying that all of this is subjective – I don’t have any “insider information” and I’m not trying to claim that the next Grand Theft Auto game needs to have any or all of these features. It’s just a bit of fun from a sometime fan of the series – and given that we know next to nothing about what the game will actually look like, why not throw some ideas of my own out there?
So without any further ado, let’s jump into my Grand Theft Auto 6 wishlist!
Number 1: A proper single-player campaign.
A single-player mode is an essential part of the Grand Theft Auto experience.
At this stage there’s been no indication that Grand Theft Auto 6 will go all-in on its inevitable online mode… but I’m still wary. Grand Theft Auto V didn’t become the second-best-selling video game ever because of its single-player campaign (Minecraft is number one, in case you were wondering). It was the online mode that kept fans coming back – and crucially from Rockstar’s point of view, kept them spending money.
There has to be a temptation to skip the single-player campaign altogether, or else direct the vast majority of development time and resources into Grand Theft Auto 6′s online mode. I hope that some senior folks at Rockstar are pushing back on that!
Grand Theft Auto V’s online mode has been crucial to the game’s success.
That said, it’s worth pointing out that less than one-third of players have actually completed the Grand Theft Auto V single-player campaign. Rockstar’s other big release, Red Dead Redemption II, has comparable figures for completion too, so it seems that a significant number of players either don’t make it to the end of the campaign or, more likely, only turn up for the multiplayer online mode.
Despite that, Grand Theft Auto 6 would lose something significant without a decent, long single-player campaign – and I don’t just say that because it’s the part of the game that I’m most interested in! There’s still a lot of people interested in single-player titles, and Rockstar has demonstrated time and again its ability to write truly excellent stories. Moreover, a lot of people would want to play the game in single-player mode to learn the ropes before jumping into multiplayer, or just for fun in between multiplayer sessions. There are plenty of reasons to make sure that Grand Theft Auto 6 retains a solid single-player mode.
Number 2: A customisable protagonist.
Despite its faults, Cyberpunk 2077 has a great character creator.
There’s been a lot of speculation about whether Grand Theft Auto 6 will include – shock horror – a girl as one of its protagonists. Cue the usual outrage from sexist morons and Twitter trolls. But I’d like to see the game go further than that, and use the character creators from games like Cyberpunk 2077 and the Saints Row series as inspiration, allowing players to craft their own, fully customisable protagonist.
A customisable character could be male, female, non-binary, trans, or anything else players want them to be. With a relatively small amount of effort, it should be possible to craft a story that a custom character can slot into, and I’ve long felt that a custom character can make a game feel more immersive. Rockstar has allowed a limited version of this in Grand Theft Auto Online – but I’m thinking bigger!
I’m thinking of a massively expanded version of the current Grand Theft Auto Online character creator!
With Rockstar’s resources, the company could build the best character creator that any video game has ever seen. Grand Theft Auto 6 could set a high bar and become the new gold standard that other games would be compared to. Maybe I’m getting over-excited, but I think there’s a lot of potential for a truly outstanding character creator considering the amount of money that Rockstar has at its disposal.
The Grand Theft Auto series is known for its sense of humour and sarcastic style, and that could absolutely carry over to the character creator too! Making incredibly silly-looking characters, or replicating the appearances of famous figures could all become part of the fun. And it would be an easy way for Rockstar to include trans and non-binary people – allowing us to feel represented in the new game.
Number 3: Multiple protagonists.
The trio of playable characters in Grand Theft Auto V.
If a custom character creator is off the table for whatever reason, then I hope that Grand Theft Auto 6 won’t abandon the multiple protagonist approach that worked so well in its predecessor. Being able to unlock different characters, then switch between them on the fly, added a fun element to gameplay, and with each character being different and coming from a different place, there was scope to tell three very different stories that ultimately came together.
My preference would be for a custom character, I think. If handled properly, and if the character creator was well-built with plenty of choices and options, that would be the best way for Grand Theft Auto 6 to truly represent as many different folks as possible. But a group of three or four main characters, including at least one female protagonist, would be a good option too.
How about we play as a female character for once?
That being said, I can already predict that there will be a backlash from so-called “fans” in the gamer community if Rockstar shows off a female protagonist or a group of protagonists that include people from different backgrounds. “Grand Theft Auto 6 is going woke” will be the familiar, disappointing cry from too many people.
A custom character would get around that, in large part, and that’s another good point in its favour. But there’s still something appealing about having multiple playable characters, as I feel that was a feature that worked well but went underappreciated in Grand Theft Auto V.
Number 4: Way more clothes and other customisation options.
Grand Theft Auto 6 can do better than this!
Continuing a trend from the entries above, I’d love to see Grand Theft Auto 6 offer players a lot more outfits, weapon mods, vehicle designs, and the like. Red Dead Redemption II offered a pretty wide range of outfits and some gun modification options, but I’d like to see this expanded in a big way for Grand Theft Auto 6. Again, Rockstar can look to games like Cyberpunk 2077 for inspiration – despite the myriad problems with that title, there’s no denying it has a lot of customisation options!
Part of the fun of an expansive open-world title like Grand Theft Auto 6 is getting lost in the world and feeling like you’re participating, living out an alternate life. How your character appears is a big part of that, and being able to change up the protagonist’s style – going from street to preppy to old-fashioned and beyond – is a big part of that. Making my character look the way I want them to look is all part of the immersion.
Customising a rifle in Red Dead Redemption II.
This can extend to vehicles and weapons, too. Red Dead Redemption II allowed for a degree of cosmetic weapon customisation, and that was great, but that title was set in the 19th Century and thus the cosmetic options were somewhat limited! But for a game with a more modern setting, it should be possible to have cars and guns in every shade of the rainbow for starters, and with plenty of designs, logos, and more to add to them and fully customise them. Forza Horizon 5 offers a pretty extensive vehicle customiser, and it never ceases to amaze me to see the creative designs that folks in that game have come up with!
So let’s think about adding plenty of different clothes in a variety of styles and from a variety of fashion trends! Depending on when and where the game is set there could be limitations on this, and that would be understandable, but I’d still like to see an extensive range of clothes, vehicle designs, weapon skins, and the like so I can really get stuck in and make my character stand out!
Number 5: A brand-new setting.
Grand Theft Auto Reykjavik, anyone?
I’m kicking myself for not taking a screenshot because now I can’t find it, but I saw a poll on social media within the last couple of days asking participants where they’d like Grand Theft Auto 6 to be set. Vice City – the franchise’s Miami analogue – put in a creditable showing, but by far the most-requested setting was “somewhere new.”
Grand Theft Auto V was successful by reimagining Los Santos – a city that had first appeared in Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas in 2005 – but I’d like to see the next entry in the series pick a brand-new setting to explore instead of returning to somewhere that fans of the series have already been. The franchise should also avoid, in my opinion, settings that would be too similar to its recent Los Angeles stand-in, so I’d recommend avoiding coastal, tropical cities.
I wouldn’t take Grand Theft Auto back to Vice City this time if it was up to me!
I also believe that the Grand Theft Auto series works best in an American setting. The series is geared up for America, and trying to transpose it and set a new game in Asia or Europe would, in my view anyway, take away something significant that defines what Grand Theft Auto is. I know there was that London spin-off in the days when Grand Theft Auto still used a top-down perspective, but every other title has been set in the United States.
There are several really interesting choices for cities that a new game could be based on. A Washington DC analogue could look at things like power and corruption, or the game could hop over to Chicago for a story about the mob. A city based on Detroit could look at the decline of America as a manufacturing powerhouse and what effects that has had. Or Grand Theft Auto 6 could show us an updated, modern-day look at Red Dead Redemption II’s Saint Denis – a stand-in for New Orleans! Those are just a few interesting ideas, and it could be really neat to see any show up in a future game.
Number 6: A different time period.
Back to the eighties or nineties?
Some of the best-loved Grand Theft Auto games didn’t use a modern-day setting. Vice City was set in the 1980s and San Andreas was set in the 1990s, and both games are well-remembered – despite being soiled by a recent sub-par remaster. In addition, Red Dead Redemption II took Rockstar’s signature open-world concept all the way back to the 19th Century and proved it can still work! So there’s a lot of potential, in my view, for the next Grand Theft Auto game to step out of the modern day.
There’s a lot of eighties nostalgia floating around at the moment, with films like Ready Player One and TV shows like Stranger Things cashing in on that, so that’s one possibility. It would also be interesting to step back into the 1990s and re-live the turn of the millennium all over again! There’s a lot of potential in taking advantage of a distinct time period or moment in time, and Rockstar has already demonstrated an ability to do so with past titles.
How about the seventies?
Grand Theft Auto 6 will have a difficult task to distinguish itself from its phenomenally-popular predecessor, and one way to immediately change the look and feel of the game and make it distinct would be to set it in a completely different decade. Combined with a setting that would take players away from the palm trees and beaches of California (sorry, San Andreas) I think an earlier time period could be an exceptionally interesting way to draw a line under Grand Theft Auto V and demonstrate that the new game has something very different to offer.
Somehow, Grand Theft Auto 6 has to do things that its immediate predecessor couldn’t offer. That realistically means that the new game needs either a brand-new setting or a time period that the series hasn’t visited in a while. Ideally, Grand Theft Auto 6 will offer both.
Number 7: Cameos are fine, but let’s have new characters and a new story.
Claude from Grand Theft Auto 3 (right) had a cameo in San Andreas.
There’s going to be a huge temptation for Grand Theft Auto 6 to be an overblown sequel, stuffed full of callbacks, references, and nostalgia plays for Grand Theft Auto V – and other entries in the series. Depending on when and where the game is set, this could mean the return of familiar characters.
Cameos and the occasional reference are okay – and good fan-service in some respects – but I hope that the new game’s story will be able to stand on its own two feet. Grand Theft Auto isn’t a series that needs this kind of backwards-looking nostalgia, and every game thus far has been a distinct, standalone title. Because of the success of Grand Theft Auto V, though, there may well be some senior figures at Rockstar who aren’t prepared to fully let go.
Number 8: Visual and gameplay improvements.
There have been some visually amazing games in recent years. (Pictured: Kena: Bridge of Spirits)
Grand Theft Auto V is now almost nine years old, and was originally released on the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. Updates, patches, and new versions have certainly kept things fresh, but the game is now showing its age. The Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 were decent consoles, capable of producing some excellent games, but with the technological improvement of two full console generations, there’s scope for Grand Theft Auto 6 to be bigger, prettier, and a better all-round experience.
Realistically this means that Grand Theft Auto 6 has to be an Xbox Series S/X and PlayStation 5 exclusive – trying to make a game that could also work on last generation’s consoles might be tempting, especially given the perennial problems of shortages and stock availability that have plagued the new consoles since launch. But going down this road will be a massive mistake – as Cyberpunk 2077 developers CD Projekt Red found to their cost.
Cyberpunk 2077 looks good (when it works).
Cyberpunk 2077 was crippled at launch by a catastrophic litany of bugs and glitches on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One specifically, and a big part of the reason why that happened is because the game is right at the technological limit of what those machines are capable of. If Grand Theft Auto 6 is going to be the game that fans are expecting, it needs a world at least as big and dense as Cyberpunk 2077′s. That means it needs to be built from the ground up with new hardware in mind.
Part of the appeal of Grand Theft Auto games is how silly they can be – so I don’t necessarily think that Rockstar needs to implement a realistic physics system or anything like that. But there are some areas where the standard open-world gameplay could be improved, and in addition to next-gen graphics it would be great if the game could feel like something new as well.
Number 9: Proper difficulty and saving options.
Examples of difficulty settings present in Mass Effect: Legendary Edition.
Most Rockstar games don’t offer proper difficulty options. This was a complaint I had with Red Dead Redemption II as well as Grand Theft Auto V – and as I’ve said on several occasions, in 2022 there’s no excuse for not providing players with the option to change the game’s difficulty. This is such an incredibly basic feature that has been part of so many games going back decades that it amazes me that Rockstar didn’t bother with it.
Red Dead Redemption II had a feature where, after failing a specific part of a mission 3 times, it would be possible to skip ahead to the next checkpoint – and this is the only reason I was able to make it to the end of the story! But Grand Theft Auto 6 needs to do better. Difficulty settings are an accessibility feature, allowing players with disabilities and players of different skill levels access to a game. Rockstar needs to realise this and act accordingly.
Games that are too difficult aren’t fun for many players.
Also, if I save a game in a specific location, I feel like my character should still be there when I load up my save file later on. I can’t count the number of times in Red Dead Redemption II where I loaded up my save and then had to figure out where I was, where my horse was, and where my next objective was, all because the game seems to pick arbitrary locations for the player character to be when loading up a save file.
Grand Theft Auto V had a “quicksave” option which got around this – but past games in the series have relied on players returning to a safe-house or other specific location in order to save progress and load up save files. This wastes time and is an inconvenience – one that modern game design allows practically all titles to get around. So a decent save/load option, please!
Number 10: A simultaneous PC release.
Don’t leave out PC gamers!
Grand Theft Auto V was released on Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 in 2013, but didn’t come to PC for almost eighteen months. Red Dead Redemption II likewise didn’t arrive on PC for more than a year after its debut on Xbox One and PlayStation 4. But with PC gaming having grown ever more in just the last few years, it would be a mistake to leave PC players behind.
With the game having taken so long to develop already, what’s an extra few months if it means a PC version can be released alongside consoles? It would make so much sense to bring the game to all three platforms simultaneously, making for a bigger and bolder launch than either Grand Theft Auto V or Red Dead Redemption II enjoyed. And yes, I admit that this one is pure bias – my primary gaming platform these days is a PC!
So that’s it.
Remember when Grand Theft Auto looked like this?
That’s as close as I can get to describing my “perfect” Grand Theft Auto 6! It took me well over two years from Red Dead Redemption II’s PC launch to finally get around to playing it, so don’t expect an instant review here on the website the second the new game is out! But I daresay I will pick up a copy – provided it has a single-player mode, at least – and share my thoughts and impressions.
Rockstar has previously announced games fairly close to their expected release window, so I wouldn’t be stunned to learn Grand Theft Auto 6 is currently gunning for a release before Christmas – but take that with a grain of salt. There’s been online chatter and rumours suggesting late 2023 or early 2024 as possible release windows, so I guess we’ll have to watch and wait for more information.
I’m curious to see how Rockstar will follow up one of the biggest games of all time. Grand Theft Auto V has been a juggernaut, clocking up sales for almost nine years and hardly ever dropping out of the top-ten or top-twenty bestsellers and most-played games lists. Rockstar will be hoping that Grand Theft Auto 6 can recapture the magic this time around, and will bring its significant financial resources to bear to ensure it happens. As for me, I’ll be happy if the game is fun – and if it meets some or all of the entries on my wishlist, I daresay it will be!
Grand Theft Auto 6 is currently in development and is the copyright of Rockstar Games and/or Take-Two Interactive. Some screenshots and promotional art courtesy of IGDB. This article contains the thoughts and opinions of one person only and is not intended to cause any offence.
The last couple of years have been a mixed bag when it comes to bringing back classic games. The likes of Resident Evil 2 and Crash Bandicoot have been remade from the ground up and released to critical acclaim… but then titles such as Kingdoms of Amalur: Re-Reckoning and Mass Effect: Legendary Edition have been lacklustre at best, with minimal effort put into what basically amounted to a repackaging.
It’s in light of games like Mass Effect: Legendary Edition – which is one of the most disappointing titles of 2021 for me personally – that I look upon the clumsily-named upcoming title Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy – The Definitive Edition. With the game seemingly quite close to release but nary a teaser video nor screenshot in sight, I can’t help but feel that it will be, at best, better described as a repackaging or a re-release… one with a hefty new price tag slapped on.
Three older games are getting the so-called “remaster” treatment from Rockstar.
When Warcraft III was “remastered” last year, the original version of the game was pulled from sale. Fans could no longer play the original Warcraft III, and that became a massive problem when the “remaster” ended up being absolutely atrocious. Promised features were missing, the game was riddled with bugs, and overall fans considered it an awful experience. With no way to return to the original version of the game, many fans were left stuck.
The reason I bring up Warcraft III: Reforged as an example of a “remaster” gone wrong is because Grand Theft Auto developers Rockstar have chosen to do the exact same thing with The Definitive Edition’s three constituent games. All three have been de-listed – industry slang meaning they’ve been removed from sale digitally – on all of the platforms where they had been available. As attention shifts to the remaster, Rockstar doesn’t want anyone to be able to purchase the original version of these games.
Warcraft III: Reforged is an example of how not to handle a remaster.
Why? That’s the obvious question. “Money” is part of the answer; Rockstar doesn’t want the renewed attention on these three games pushing people to just pick up the original versions of one or more of the titles instead of paying a reported $70 (£60-65 in the UK) for the new version. But if the remaster is anywhere close to being as good as it should be, that shouldn’t even be a concern!
In short, Rockstar’s decision to pull Grand Theft Auto III, Vice City, and San Andreas from sale is the biggest and most clear indicator so far that they don’t have confidence in their own product. They’re already anticipating that the “remaster” is going to be savaged for making no changes or minimal changes to these three older games, so in order to force players to buy it and artificially inflate sales they’ve chosen to pull the original versions from sale – just like Blizzard did with Warcraft III. Despite Mass Effect: Legendary Edition’s many issues, EA and BioWare didn’t have the audacity to pull the original versions of the Mass Effect trilogy from sale.
Promo art for Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy – The Definitive Edition.
I have happy memories of Grand Theft Auto. Scoring the original game in 1997 or ’98 – hot on the heels of press complaints about its violent nature and knowing it would irritate my parents – was a fun adventure and scored me bragging rights with my friends at the time! Someone I knew even got in a ton of trouble for buying the game before he turned 18! The three games from the early/mid 2000s that will be part of this remaster are also games I remember with fondness from that era. I picked up a set which included Grand Theft Auto III and Vice City for the original Xbox, then got San Andreas when it was released a couple of years later.
On the Xbox, it was possible to listen to custom soundtracks while cruising around Vice City or Los Santos. The Xbox allowed players to rip CDs to its internal hard drive, which could then be accessed in certain games – and the Grand Theft Auto titles were among them. When I lived with friends during that period, kicking back to play some Grand Theft Auto was a frequent evening and weekend pastime – and though I have no doubt I’m over-romanticising those memories (because damnit Rob, you always hogged the control pad and it drove me mad!) I still have very positive memories of these three titles as social games and as escapist entertainment with friends.
I have fun memories of playing all three games in this set.
I’m sceptical that Rockstar – a company which has spent much of the past decade milking one successful game and not creating anything new – has Grand Theft Auto’s best intentions at heart with this remaster. The price tag is already generating a fair amount of sticker shock, and rightly so, but I doubt the remaster’s issues will end there.
Where are the screenshots, teasers, trailers, and gameplay videos that we should expect to see for a game that’s supposedly weeks away from release? Having seen nothing at all except one piece of box art, I feel certain that Rockstar is hiding the game for a reason. And that reason is probably simple: The Definitive Edition will be better described as a re-release or repackaging than a “remaster.”
We’re still yet to see any screenshots or a trailer for The Definitive Edition.
The Definitive Edition – lacklustre or not – has been created for one reason, and one reason only: to get fans to shut up about the absent Grand Theft Auto 6 for a while. It’s a cheap and easy way for Rockstar to throw fans a bone while continuing to ignore the one thing that’s been requested over and over for almost eight years. Rockstar is unwilling to let go of Grand Theft Auto V and its lucrative online mode, but with fans increasingly agitated by the company’s antics – such as re-releasing the game yet again on the new PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series S/X – they evidently felt that they had to be seen to offer something.
Remastering Grand Theft Auto III, Vice City, and San Andreas was clearly seen as a way to do that without having to shift any development resources away from Grand Theft Auto V and its online mode. The wheels will come off that juggernaut sooner rather than later, though, as the backlash to the announcement of the game’s re-release on the latest generation of consoles showed. I hope Rockstar has been working on something more than The Definitive Edition for when that moment comes – because it’s coming soon.
I might’ve been tempted to go back and replay these three games, but it seems like The Definitive Edition won’t be the best option for doing so, especially not at the price that has been discussed in recent days. But fundamentally, what the Grand Theft Auto series needs is not a re-release of three older titles that are still perfectly playable in their own right, but a proper sequel. Rockstar hopes that The Definitive Edition will buy them some time. Maybe they’re right – but only if it’s any good, and nothing I’ve seen or heard so far has convinced me that it will be.
Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy – The Definitive Edition will be released before the end of 2021 for PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series S/X. The Grand Theft Auto series is the copyright of Rockstar and Take-Two Interactive. This article contains the thoughts and opinions of one person only and is not intended to cause any offence.
Even as Grand Theft Auto V enters its ninth year of life, developers Rockstar haven’t so much as hinted at the existence of a sequel. The success of Grand Theft Auto V’s online mode is surely the reason why; it’s become one of the most profitable games of all time largely due to this mode, and as long as the money is still rolling in and folks are content to keep playing an older game, the attitude “why make a new one?” seems to be prevalent.
But surely there will eventually be a sequel. Though Grand Theft Auto V had been a stalwart on the charts since its release, scarcely dropping out of the top ten bestsellers in some countries and territories, recently it does seem to be slipping, and doesn’t feature in the most-sold games for last year or the first few months of this year. Perhaps those are signs that the Grand Theft Auto V juggernaut is slowing down, despite Rockstar’s plan to port it to new consoles.
Grand Theft Auto V has had its day. Time to move on!
Trying to guess when the next entry in the series will be revealed or released is a crapshoot. If you’d told me in 2013, when Grand Theft Auto V was released on the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, that we wouldn’t have even heard about a sequel by mid-2021 I’d have thought you were making it up! What I’m saying is that, even with E3 right around the corner, it’s hard to say when we might see the first solid indications that this game is in the works. It’s even possible that Rockstar’s next big project will be something else entirely – the company owns the rights to titles like Bully, L.A. Noire and Max Payne, for example.
Instead of trying to figure out if we’re going to see Grand Theft Auto 6 any time soon, today I want to focus on some possible options for its setting and time period. These are two of the biggest fundamental characteristics of any game in the series, and the new title has a lot to consider to say the least! As always, please remember that I don’t have any “insider information.” I’m approaching the subject as a fan of the series, speculating and considering different possibilities. Nothing more. With that out of the way, let’s get started!
Time Period:
Could stepping back in time be on the agenda?
Vice City, published in 2002, is inseparable from its ’80s time period. Grand Theft Auto V is likewise firmly tied to its early-2010s time period. We’ve seen games in the Grand Theft Auto series set in several different decades, and a time period can become absolutely iconic, either playing on contemporary themes and issues or using nostalgia as a lens.
Although Grand Theft Auto V has seen great success using a (relatively) modern setting, I’m not sure that its sequel should necessarily do the same. After such a long gap between games, Grand Theft Auto 6 has a strong need to differentiate itself from its predecessor, and being too samey could lead to negative reviews and a lack of interest. With Grand Theft Auto V being ported to next-gen consoles, Grand Theft Auto 6′s biggest competitor could be its own predecessor, so it needs to stand out and stand apart.
Is there anything more “seventies” than a disco ball?
So what are the options? Nostalgia for the ’80s and ’90s is a big deal in entertainment at the moment, and with Vice City being almost twenty years old, and San Andreas being over fifteen years old at this point, a return to either of those eras could be on the agenda and wouldn’t feel too derivative. Television shows like Stranger Things and even Chernobyl, as well as games like Call Of Duty: Black Ops Cold War have all succeeded with a nostalgic ’80s vibe, and that would certainly be one way to go!
I’d also suggest that the turn of the millennium – i.e. 1999-2000 – is an era ripe for a deep dive. Such a setting could include elements from the ’90s and early ’00s, and recreate the party atmosphere of Millennium Eve! A pre-9/11 look at the United States would present a contrast to the present day, allowing the game to use that lens to look at modern issues in a way that’s understandable but still detached.
Maybe not quite this far back in time…
This era would also be familiar enough not to feel too out of place. Though technology has changed and things like internet access and mobile phones have become much more commonplace in the years since the millennium, those things all existed in this time period, so the game wouldn’t have to drop aspects like using a mobile phone for communicating with other characters and players, and so on.
Stepping back further in time, the ’70s is an era that the franchise has yet to really explore. There arguably isn’t as much ’70s nostalgia floating around today as there might’ve been ten or fifteen years ago, and such a setting would be riskier insofar as things like mobile phones and computers couldn’t be big features, which might complicate gameplay. But there’s no denying that a ’70s time period would let Grand Theft Auto 6 stand on its own two feet.
Location:
Let’s not re-do New York City!
Location and time period are, to an extent, linked. Vice City’s Miami analogue would lose much of its charm were it not set in the ’80s and able to take advantage of a Miami Vice vibe. Certain areas and cities have distinct and recognisable eras all their own – New York City in the ’90s, for example, was more run-down and with more crime, before cleaning up its act in the years that followed. At least that’s the stereotype present in the cultural mindset!
I’m very firmly in the camp that says that Grand Theft Auto is a distinctly and curiously American phenomenon. Trying to translocate the next game in the series to Europe or South America, as some have suggested, would result in it losing much of what defines the series, as well as restricting the kind of satire that can be explored. Easy access to firearms and the criminal underbelly of America has been what the games have explored – at least in their modern, story-focused incarnations. So in my opinion, the series needs to firmly stay in the United States.
Grand Theft Auto should retain its United States setting.
There can be open-world crime games set in other countries. Sleeping Dogs is a perfect example. But that game took a completely different approach by making the player character a police officer instead of a criminal, something that the Grand Theft Auto series couldn’t get away with and retain its own identity. Though Rockstar North – which develops the games – is based in the UK, Rockstar itself and the Grand Theft Auto series are both fundamentally American institutions, and it’s hard to envision a new game in the series abandoning its roots in this way.
Nor do I subscribe to the idea of a split map, with two cities connected by an airport or something like that – as I’ve heard some people suggest. Though I would like to see the game allow missions outside of its home city, if a convincing reason could be written, splitting the map into two smaller areas with one point of connection would be difficult to get right. Not only that, but in the popular online mode, one of the appealing things folks like best is that everyone on the server is exploring the same map and the same world.
Let’s also steer clear of a return to Vice City… it’s too superficially similar to Los Santos.
Revisiting a past location has been suggested as a possibility. But I have doubts here as well. Liberty City was the setting for Grand Theft Auto IV, the most recent entry in the series prior to the current game, so a return there would feel like Grand Theft Auto was just bouncing between the two settings. Revisiting Liberty City so soon might not be the best idea, then. The two other cities present in San Andreas would arguably be too similar to Grand Theft Auto V’s Los Santos, being set in the same region of the country, and I’d also suggest that revisiting Vice City – another sunlit tropical city by the beach – would have a similar issue. That basically rounds out the major Grand Theft Auto cities that we’re familiar with – so I think a new one has to be on the agenda.
So now that we’ve considered what wouldn’t work, how about thinking about what would?
Chicago was once the setting for Midtown Madness!
A city in the Midwest, perhaps based on Chicago, could be a good option. Chicago, Minneapolis, Detroit, and others in the so-called “rust belt” could make for a very interesting setting, looking at the rise of criminal gangs and gang culture, as well as commenting on the decline of America’s industrial regions and the associated fall in living standards. There are a lot of places in “flyover country” that are increasingly well-known due to their appearances in other media (Chicago, for example, was the setting for popular medical drama ER) and would be ripe for parody and exploration.
I also quite like the idea of a Washington DC analogue. Such a city could be the basis for a storyline looking at political corruption and excess, as well as potentially dive into shady government operations like espionage. There have been references to a “Capital City” in past Grand Theft Auto games, so maybe this will end up being the setting.
Single-player Character:
Or should that be “characters?”
In many ways, the game’s protagonist(s) can’t be crafted until the location and era are known. It would be very difficult to transpose any of the recent Grand Theft Auto protagonists out of their native environment; Franklin wouldn’t have worked in Vice City, nor would Tommy Vercetti in Grand Theft Auto V. They’re characters intrinsically connected to their city and time period.
Despite that, however, I think we can begin to consider the fundamentals of the next protagonist. Or should that be protagonists plural? Unlike some critics of Grand Theft Auto V, I actually like the approach of having multiple protagonists whose stories intersect. Was it executed perfectly? Perhaps not, but it shook up the formula from previous games and allowed Grand Theft Auto V to look at several completely different aspects of American life: Michael’s attempt at upper-middle class family life, Franklin’s experience in a lower income inner city neighbourhood, and Trevor’s rural life far away from both. I don’t expect Grand Theft Auto 6 to retain this approach given the criticism it received, but in principle it’s a good idea that can be made to work.
Claude, the silent protagonist of Grand Theft Auto III.
Unlike in past games, I think a proper character creator – one with plenty of customisation options – would make a fantastic addition to the game. A lot of games, even character-centric ones with a strong focus on story, allow a degree of customisation, and being able to change the protagonist’s face, hair, and so on would be wonderful. If there are multiple protagonists, each could be customisable, and if characters have fixed characteristics like race, gender, and age, there’s still room for customisation within those confines.
Speaking of gender, the Grand Theft Auto series has yet to feature a female protagonist – so now’s the time to do that. Some so-called “fans” will attack a female-led game, as they always do, but most folks will be on board. There are plenty of examples across entertainment of excellent female protagonists, and it’s high time Grand Theft Auto followed suit. Better late than never, right?
So that’s it. A few possibilities for Grand Theft Auto 6… whenever it may come!
Hopefully we won’t be waiting too much longer for the next game in the series.
There are other things we could talk about, like whether gameplay should be first-person or third-person, or whether a top-down view should be included to get that “retro” feel! We could argue about whether the game should be linear or offer a branching story with side-missions, and so on. But until Grand Theft Auto 6 nails the fundamentals – time period, location, and character – discussions of such things are moot!
With E3 coming up, I can’t help but feel we might get a tiny tease or hint at what’s coming next from Rockstar. Even if we do, Grand Theft Auto 6 seems unlikely this year, and perhaps even next year too. It might be a full decade between games, then, if it doesn’t release until 2023. We’ll have to wait and see! I’ll keep my ear to the ground, and if there’s any major news I’ll be sure to cover it here on the website. Now, maybe I should finally play Red Dead Redemption II while I wait?
The Grand Theft Auto series, including all titles mentioned above, is the copyright of Rockstar Games and Take-Two Interactive. This article contains the thoughts and opinions of one person only and is not intended to cause any offence.
Spoiler Warning: There are minor spoilers present for the following games: Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order, Knights of the Old Republic I & II, Mass Effect 3, and Mass Effect: Legendary Edition.
After taking a year off in 2020, the Electronic Entertainment Expo – better known as E3 – is returning later this month. In fact, many large games companies have events or announcements scheduled for June, meaning we could be in for practically an entire month of previews, trailers, teasers, and demos for a number of great upcoming titles. This time I thought it could be fun to look ahead to E3 – and other June events – and maybe make a few predictions about what we might see! There might also be a few wishes or fantasies thrown in as well!
From Microsoft and Electronic Arts to Nintendo and Ubisoft, practically all of the big names in the games industry will have something to say over the next few weeks. Much of the attention will be focused on this year’s digital E3 event, which officially takes place from the 12th to the 15th of June, but I think we can expect other big announcements outside of those dates as well.
My usual caveat applies: I have no “insider information.” Today’s list is nothing more than guesswork and speculation, with a fair amount of hoping and fantasising thrown in for good measure! With that out of the way, let’s take a look at some of my predictions (and wishes) for what we might see at this year’s E3!
Number 1: Starfield
Teaser logo for Starfield.
Bethesda’s next game has been common knowledge for years, and even while they’ve been working on Fallout 76 and porting Skyrim to smart fridges, development on this sci-fi role-playing game has continued. Rumour has it that Starfield is now edging closer to being complete, and it’s possible we could even see a release date announced at E3 – maybe even for later this year or the first half of next year.
Other than a sci-fi setting that may include some degree of space travel, actual information about Starfield has been hard to come by. The disappointment of Fallout 76, and Bethesda’s refusal to consider developing or licensing a new game engine to replace the outdated Gamebryo/Creation Engine that they’ve used for more than two decades, leaves me at least a little anxious about Starfield’s prospects, with any hype or excitement I might’ve felt at the latest big Bethesda release replaced by cautious interest. However, there’s potential in Starfield, and I hope that we’ll get a fantastic game.
Microsoft now owns Bethesda and all its current and upcoming games.
If Bethesda hadn’t learned their lesson following the calamitous launch of Fallout 76, December’s Cyberpunk 2077 catastrophe should serve as another reminder that players simply will not tolerate a broken, unfinished, “release now, fix later” mess. So as interested as I am to see Starfield, I’d very much rather that it was delayed if needs be. It would be great to see it at E3 and begin to get excited for its release, but only if it’s ready!
Bethesda has recently been acquired by Microsoft in a multi-billion dollar deal, so Starfield will almost certainly be announced as an Xbox and PC exclusive. Sorry PlayStation fans!
Number 2: Mario Kart 9
Is a new Mario Kart game coming soon?
I’ve talked about the possibility of a new Mario Kart game several times over the past few months here on the website, and the reason is simple: next year will be the Mario Kart series’ 30th anniversary. Nintendo loves to make a big deal of anniversaries, as we saw just a few months ago with the 35th anniversary of Super Mario. Although nothing is confirmed and I should point out that we don’t even know for sure that Mario Kart 9 is in development, putting the pieces together makes this one seem at least plausible!
Mario Kart 8 Deluxe has been the best-selling game on Nintendo Switch since it arrived on the platform, but it’s only a port of a Wii U game from 2014. After more than seven years, this is the longest dry spell the Mario Kart series has ever endured, and it seems like the perfect time to give the Switch its own original Mario Kart title.
2022 will be the series’ 30th anniversary.
As a celebration of all things Mario Kart, it would be great to see racetracks from past iterations return, as well as drivers from across Nintendo titles and even from other games altogether. If Mario Kart 9 is to be released in time for the anniversary next year, announcing it at E3 makes a lot of sense – building up the hype and giving fans plenty of time to get excited!
I’m not sure whether to classify this one as a wish or a prediction, because I feel certain that Nintendo will be doing something to mark the Mario Kart series’ anniversary – but will they announce it this month? We’ll have to see!
Number 3: Anything Star Trek
Could a new Star Trek game be on the horizon?
The Star Trek franchise has not done well in the gaming realm. In recent years, Star Trek Online has been the only game in town – literally – and as someone who isn’t big on massively multiplayer online games, it just isn’t “my thing.” I’d love to see ViacomCBS take advantage of Star Trek’s return to the small screen and commission a video game adaptation. Whether that would be something connected to a classic show or something based on modern Star Trek wouldn’t matter to me – though I could see the advantages of a game based on Discovery or Picard from the company’s perspective.
This is definitely a pure wish, because I’ve heard no rumours nor seen any indication that ViacomCBS has any plans to license out Star Trek in a big way. There are mobile games, the online game, and there was even a browser game earlier this year, but when it comes to putting together the kind of single-player title that I’d really love to see, the Star Trek franchise hasn’t shown any interest since the disastrous 2013 Kelvin timeline game.
2013’s Star Trek was not a good game, unfortunately.
It’s possible that that buggy, poorly-received title has harmed Star Trek’s brand from a gaming point of view, which is such a shame. There should be a pretty big overlap between Trekkies and gamers, but the franchise has consistently failed to capitalise on that, with Star Trek games going all the way back to the ’80s being of little interest to most folks.
If ViacomCBS could contract a big studio to put out the equivalent of a Jedi: Fallen Order or Mass Effect I’d be beyond thrilled. Will it happen at E3 – or ever? I have no idea. Probably not, but there’s always hope!
Number 4: Fall Guys coming to Switch and Xbox
Fall Guys is coming to Switch… eventually.
Though Fall Guys promised earlier in the year that a release on both Switch and Xbox is on the cards, there’s currently no release date on the schedule. Announcing one at E3 would be a big boost for the fun little obstacle course-battle royale game, and as I’ve said on a few occasions now, Nintendo Switch in particular feels like a perfect fit for Fall Guys.
There have been some improvements made to Fall Guys recently, like the addition of cross-platform play, the introduction of new rounds and round variants, and additional challenges that make logging in and playing more frequently feel rewarding. But there’s still a ways to go for Fall Guys if new owners Epic Games hope to break into the upper echelons of multiplayer gaming.
Hopefully Fall Guys will continue to improve – as well as finally be released on other platforms.
Fall Guys had “a moment” in August last year, in the days immediately following its release. But issues with cheating soured a lot of players on the game, and there’s work to do to rebuild both its reputation and playerbase. The announcement of Switch and Xbox versions of the game would bring renewed attention to Fall Guys, perhaps convincing lapsed players to pick it up again.
Though developers Mediatonic have stated that there are no current plans to make Fall Guys free-to-play, the delay in getting the Switch and Xbox versions ready makes me wonder if a bigger overhaul is on the cards. Announcing it at E3, with the eyes of players around the world on the games industry, would make a lot of sense and drum up plenty of hype.
Number 5: Knights of the Old Republic III/Knights of the High Republic
A new Knights of the Old Republic would make a lot of fans very happy indeed!
Rumours swirled earlier in the year of a new entry in the Knights of the Old Republic series of Star Wars role-playing games. Originally developed by BioWare, with a sequel created by Oblivion, the Knights of the Old Republic games are among my favourite games of all-time, and a sequel just sounds fantastic!
The Star Wars franchise is seemingly stepping away from its exclusive deal with Electronic Arts, so perhaps a studio like Oblivion could come back to pick up the mantle. Or we could learn that BioWare is coming back to the series that laid the groundwork for titles like Mass Effect and Dragon Age.
These two games were just fantastic.
It’s been 17 years since Knights of the Old Republic II was released, so that could mean a new entry in the series won’t be a direct sequel and will instead focus on new characters. The so-called “High Republic” era is currently a big deal in Star Wars spin-off media, focusing on a time period about 300 years prior to the film series – and several millennia after Knights of the Old Republic. I can’t help but wonder if a new game could be Knights of the High Republic instead!
However, Knights of the Old Republic II definitely teased a sequel, and the stories of both Revan and the Jedi Exile are arguably incomplete (despite some mentions or appearances in the online multiplayer game The Old Republic). The Star Wars franchise has recently been in the habit of announcing games shortly before their launch – like last year’s Squadrons. If that happens again, maybe we’ll get a new Star Wars game later this year!
Number 6: Jedi: Fallen Order II
Jedi: Fallen Order was amazing.
Sticking with Star Wars, we know that Respawn Entertainment is currently working on a sequel to 2019’s Jedi: Fallen Order. Though development may have only begun in earnest when the success of the first game became apparent, it’s not inconceivable that there’ll be something concrete to show off at this year’s E3, even if the game isn’t coming any time soon.
Cal Kestis’ story could take a different direction in the sequel, as the end of the first game left things open-ended and with no clear destination. Jedi: Fallen Order introduced us to some amazing characters, and it’s going to be wonderful to find out what comes next for all of them. I doubt Jedi: Fallen Order II will be released this year – it may not even be released next year – but a little tease to keep fans interested is no bad thing at an event like this!
It would be great to see Cal and the gang return.
Jedi: Fallen Order definitively proved to companies that have been moving away from single-player titles that there’s still a lot of room for success and profit in the medium. That’s an incredibly positive legacy for any game, and after fans had been vocal about wanting a single-player, story-focused Star Wars game, the fact that it succeeded and sold millions of copies showed Electronic Arts and other big companies that it’s worth investing in this kind of title.
I’m happy to wait for Jedi: Fallen Order II. The original game was released without major bugs or glitches, something which should be expected but which won it a lot of praise in an industry where “release now, fix later” has almost become the norm. Rather than rush the sequel, I hope Respawn and EA take their time to give it the polish it deserves.
Number 7: Mass Effect 4
Promo art for Mass Effect 2.
It would make a lot of sense for BioWare and Electronic Arts to capitalise on the successful release of Mass Effect: Legendary Edition to at least tease or hint at what’s coming next for the franchise. We know, thanks to an earlier announcement, that Mass Effect 4 is in early development, but aside from a cinematic teaser we know nothing about the next entry in the series.
One of the reasons Mass Effect: Andromeda didn’t succeed (aside from its bugs and launch issues) was that it ignored the ending of the third game and tried to do its own thing off to one side. The end of the Reaper War was a significant moment for the Mass Effect galaxy and its races, and piecing together what happens next is something many fans are interested in, despite the disappointment many felt at the three ending options for Mass Effect 3.
With the Reaper War over, where will the drama and action come from in Mass Effect 4?
Mass Effect 4 has a difficult task. It has to follow on from an epic “war to end all wars” type of story in a way that doesn’t feel anticlimactic and small. That’s not going to be easy, and I can understand why BioWare instead chose to tell a side-story in Andromeda instead of trying to confront this challenge head-on. With the game in development, though, I assume they’ve figured something out!
Mass Effect: Legendary Edition can be seen as a test or a dry run for a new game, and judging by the success it’s seen over the last couple of weeks, I have no doubt that a new entry in the series will be highly anticipated by fans.
Number 8: Grand Theft Auto 6
After almost a decade, surely a new Grand Theft Auto game can’t be too far away?
For too long Rockstar have been milking Grand Theft Auto V’s online mode, and it’s time for a change. After the longest gap between games in the history of the franchise, a new title in the open-world crime saga is long overdue, and it would be great to get some kind of news – even just the tiniest tease – at E3.
Rockstar has already committed to porting Grand Theft Auto V to PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series S/X, diverting time, money, and development resources away from making a new game. I’ve said before that Grand Theft Auto V has run its course by now, and the disappointed reaction from fans to news of a port to new consoles backs that up. It’s high time for a new title.
Grand Theft Auto V’s port to new hardware left many players upset.
Will it happen, though? I mean it will eventually happen, of course; there’s too much money in the brand to let it end with Grand Theft Auto V. But despite the fact that some players have been vocal about wanting a new title, Rockstar has thus far shown no signs of working on a sequel. In some ways, perhaps the success of Grand Theft Auto V has become a problem for the franchise; the more time passes, the harder it will be for any sequel to live up to its illustrious predecessor.
Finding a way for Grand Theft Auto 6 to differentiate itself from the current iteration of the series is also a challenge. Another sunlit coastal city in the present day probably won’t cut it – so where should Rockstar take the series? Maybe we’ll see the first indications soon!
Number 9: Civilization VII
Promo screenshot of Civilization VI.
It’s been almost five years since the release of Civilization VI, so it wouldn’t surprise me to learn that a new entry in the series is in development. The most recent expansion pack for Civilization VI – titled the New Frontier pass – may be the game’s last, with no further announcements of DLC coming since last year. Perhaps Firaxis has already begun to shift development to a new game?
I was pleasantly surprised by Civilization VI when I picked it up in 2016. Having not been a big fan of previous turn-based strategy games I was initially sceptical, but I’m glad I took the plunge! I ended up sinking hundreds of hours into Civilization VI as the last decade drew to a close, and there’s a lot to be said for the series.
The Civilization series has come a long way since its inception in the early 1990s!
A new game would shake up the formula without reinventing the wheel, introducing different ways to play or bringing back successful features from past entries in the series. There would also be the potential to introduce brand-new factions and leaders – a subject I took a look at a few weeks ago.
Series like Civilization, which don’t see annual releases, can sometimes cause controversy if a new entry is regarded as being released “too soon” after the previous one. But the Civilization franchise has usually put out a new game roughly every four to five years on average, so the time could be coming for a new entry.
Number 10: Xbox Game Pass
Xbox Game Pass is a great and inexpensive way to get access to a large library of titles.
Game Pass has taken off over the last few months, and is one of the most compelling arguments in favour of buying an Xbox right now, as well as offering a relatively inexpensive way into gaming in general. Microsoft will be making a big appearance at E3, and I can’t help but wonder what news they’ll have regarding Game Pass.
Some have suggested that a deal might be on the table to bring Xbox Game Pass to Nintendo Switch or even PlayStation; I’m not sure that’s practical considering the divide between Microsoft and Sony in particular, but you never know! After Bethesda and EA Play have both brought significant libraries of games to the service in recent months, I’m beginning to wonder what’s left for Microsoft to possibly add!
EA, Bethesda, and more… Game Pass continues to grow!
Regardless, I’m sure that any titles Microsoft show off, including big Bethesda titles like Starfield or even The Elder Scrolls VI, will be coming to Game Pass, so that’s a good start. But using the opportunity of E3 to really push the service and show how it’s continuing to expand would be great from Microsoft’s perspective.
PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X consoles are still sold out everywhere, but there seem to be more Xbox Series S consoles available at the moment. Game Pass also makes picking up a pre-owned Xbox One a pretty good proposition in the short term, so Microsoft has a lot of scope this month to hook in and convert players to their platform – and Game Pass is the way to do it.
Number 11: Halo Infinite
Halo Infinite was delayed, but it’s still being worked on.
Speaking of Microsoft and Xbox, following a disappointing reveal last year, Halo Infinite was postponed. Originally the game was supposed to be the Xbox Series S/X’s flagship launch title, but as I predicted at the time, its absence ultimately didn’t prove a huge hurdle for the new console’s launch.
Since original developer Bungie abandoned the Halo series to pursue Destiny in 2010, the series has struggled to hit the highs of earlier titles. Halo 4 and Halo 5 were both well-received by some fans but disliked by others, and there’s a sense that the Halo series really needs a win with its next iteration. I fully support developers 343 Industries delaying the project and taking the necessary time to bash it into shape. Maybe we’ll see what they’ve been working on at E3!
Promo art for the Halo series.
With a Halo television series also in the works, it should be a good time to be a fan of the sci-fi shooter series. Hopefully the issues with Infinite have been ironed out, and even if there’s still no definite word on when it’ll be released, there will be something to show off to tide fans over and restore hope in the series’ future.
I enjoyed playing Halo and Halo 2 back on the original Xbox, and I’ve recently had fun with The Master Chief Collection on PC, which included a couple of titles I hadn’t played. I’m interested to see what Infinite will bring to the table.
Number 12: Elden Ring
A figure from the Elden Ring teaser trailer.
I have to be honest: I’m not sure if Elden Ring is going to be “my kind of thing.” Don’t get me wrong, I like George R R Martin – who’s working with developer FromSoftware on the project – but the teaser trailer gave off a kind of horror vibe that just rubbed me the wrong way, I guess.
I’m also not a fan of FromSoftware’s “extreme difficulty for the sake of it” style of gameplay. There’s no indication that Elden Ring will be as horribly difficult as the likes of Dark Souls, but the developer’s reputation precedes them, and their unwillingness to add difficulty options in their games is not something I appreciate. For those reasons and more it may end up being a game I skip!
A rather creepy moment from the teaser trailer.
Despite that, I like the idea of a new dark fantasy role-playing game. The involvement of George R R Martin has a lot of fans understandably excited, as he’s one of the best authors working in the genre today. Other than that, and a short cinematic teaser, we don’t know very much at all about Elden Ring – so this could be the moment for Bandai Namco to finally show off some gameplay!
If I were being hopeful, I guess I’d say that I’d like to see a darker, more polished looking version of The Elder Scrolls, with plenty of side-missions, lots of factions to join or fight against, and a main story that can be played through right away or sidelined in favour of doing other things. Whether Elden Ring will be anything like that, or whether it’ll be closer to Dark Souls is anyone’s guess at the moment!
Number 13: Super Mario 64 remake
Battling Bowser in HD? Yes please!
This is a game that I truly felt was a possibility last year, when Nintendo was marking the 35th anniversary of the Super Mario series. Ultimately the company opted to include a pretty crappy version of Super Mario 64 – with a weird screen resolution that left black bars on all four sides of the screen – as part of the underwhelming Super Mario 3D All-Stars collection.
But maybe the rumours of a reimagining of this classic 3D platformer from 1996 weren’t just made up! Maybe Super Mario 64 is being remade using the engine from Super Mario Odyssey, and maybe it’ll be announced this month! Maybe.
Super Mario 3D All-Stars did not do justice to this game. A full remake would be amazing, though!
There are relatively few games that I’d be really excited to see remade, because in a lot of cases – especially when dealing with relatively recent games – the original versions still hold up pretty well. But after 25 years, there’s definitely scope to remake Super Mario 64, bringing it up-to-date for a new generation of players.
With the game’s 25th anniversary happening this year, perhaps Nintendo’s love of anniversary events will have convinced them it’s worth putting together a remake! Either way, if you can find a copy the original game is well worth playing if you missed it first time around.
Number 14: Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga
Teaser art for Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga.
The third Star Wars title on this list is a fun one! Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga was originally due for release last year, before being delayed. The game will be a follow-up to the very successful 2007 game Lego Star Wars: The Complete Saga, which if you haven’t played I can’t recommend highly enough!
The chance to revisit the Star Wars world with a fun Lego twist – in high definition, this time – has been appealing since The Skywalker Saga was announced a couple of years ago, and this is one game I’m definitely looking forward to. When it was delayed there was mention of a 2021 release, but no date or even release window has yet been elaborated on. Maybe E3 could be the right moment!
Rey and Kylo Ren clash in another promo screenshot for the game.
Though they arguably overdid it and burned out somewhere in the late 2000s or early 2010s, Lego adaptations of popular franchises have been a lot of fun. Lego Star Wars was one of the first to really go mainstream and see big success, but other titles which adapted properties like Indiana Jones and Pirates of the Caribbean were good fun as well.
It would be great to get a solid release date and see a little more of the game. Adapting all nine films in the Star Wars series into a single game is no mean feat, but it’s a challenge that developer Traveller’s Tales has never shied away from. I’m sure that The Skywalker Saga will prove to be a worthy successor to previous Lego Star Wars titles.
So that’s it! A few of my predictions – and wishes – for this month’s E3.
The official E3 2021 logo.
Could you tell which were predictions and which were wishes? I’m not sure I could tell you which were which in every case, so don’t worry! After a rough year, which hasn’t been helped by myriad delays and shortages, it’ll be nice to see players getting genuinely excited about upcoming titles once again. Whatever is ultimately announced or revealed, I’m sure there’ll be something of interest to me, something I can put on my wishlist for later in the year!
Though I’ve never been to E3, I did attend two iterations of GamesCom – Europe’s biggest games fair – in the past when I used to work for a large games company. As I said last year, these digital events are arguably the future of games marketing. Not only are they substantially cheaper than paying to rent a convention centre in California, but it gives the companies greater control over their own messaging. Though the headline this year is “E3 is back!” I would argue that it isn’t – not really. E3 was an in-person event, an overblown trade fair that started allowing members of the public to attend. What we’re going to see this month will be all-digital and quite different.
I hope this was a bit of fun as we look ahead to E3. There are plenty of upcoming games to get excited about, and I shall be watching the various presentations with interest!
All titles mentioned above are the trademark or copyright of their respective studio, developer, and/or publisher. Some screenshots and promotional artwork courtesy of press kits on IGDB. E3 2021 takes place digitally from the 12th to the 15th of June, with additional events taking place throughout the month of June. This article contains the thoughts and opinions of one person only and is not intended to cause any offence.
Grand Theft Auto V came out in September 2013 on PS3 and Xbox 360. It has since been released on current consoles as well as PC, and it would be an understatement to say it’s made developers Rockstar a metric fuckton of money. For a six-year-old game to continually be among the most-played games and in the sales charts across all three platforms is no mean feat, and repeating GTA 5’s success will be a challenge like no other.
So how to go about it?
There’s been a lot of speculation going back several years about what form a future Grand Theft Auto title should take. I don’t have any sources, this is just my opinion. So take everything from this point with a grain of salt.
The formula for GTA 5’s success was based on its online mode, and that’s been where the real money has come from for Rockstar. Online has kept people interested and returning, and most importantly, spending money on in-game cash and items. But Grand Theft Auto games weren’t built on multiplayer, and even in the case of GTA 5, it wasn’t what hooked people in in the first place. The core of any GTA game has, and always should be, a great story. It wasn’t until Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas that the series even featured a multiplayer mode, albeit a very limited one which was a bit of fun but nowhere near the scale of GTA 5.
The story for any GTA game needs several key elements to come together: character, location, era, and destination. Each element influences the others, as characters become defined by the era and location they reside in, and the destination they strive to reach changes depending on who they are and where they came from.
The setting and era need to be nailed down first. GTA 5 has done exceptionally well with a modern setting (or modern-ish now, given the game is into its seventh year of life). But previous entries in the franchise have used the recent past – the 1960s, 1980s, and 1990s. It would be tempting to suggest that an historical setting, even a recent decade, would cause the game to find more of a niche audience, as players who want their games firmly rooted in the modern day might drop out. But the success of Red Dead Redemption II, while admittedly not on the same scale as GTA 5, should show that historical settings can play very well when there’s an interesting world with lots to do and some great characters.
There’s a lot of nostalgia flying around at the moment – especially for the 1980s and 1990s – and Rockstar could absolutely tap into that. Doing so would not only open up the game to the significant market which exists right now for a nostalgic setting, but would ensure GTA 6 would stand apart from its predecessor and not look like simply an updated version of what people have already been playing for the last few years.
Differentiating itself from GTA 5 will be a big task, and the physical location will be a part of that too. I’ve heard “rumours” (which, let’s be honest, are 99.9% bullshit) that there might be a return to Vice City on the cards. But to me that doesn’t make a lot of sense. Vice City is Rockstar’s version of Miami, where Los Santos (the setting for GTA 5) is their version of Los Angeles. But LA and Miami are both cities on the coast, with beaches, in a sunny, tropical part of the country. The look and feel of those cities is different, but not radically so. Not as different as, say, New York or Chicago would be. Given that Rockstar’s New York analogue, Liberty City, was the setting for GTA 4 I think that’s an unlikely candidate. I’d be wary of another tropical setting if the game is to truly step out of GTA 5’s shadow.
Practically everyone speculating on GTA 6’s location has been looking at past settings, thinking Rockstar might take the series back to one of its prior locations. But games should, where possible, try to push forward, and the United States is far bigger than California, Miami, and New York. It would be great to see a Midwestern city like Chicago or Minneapolis parodied in the next game, or a version of a city with history like Philadelphia or Boston. A city based on Washington DC could be a great choice too. It could even go to one of the big Southern metropolises like Atlanta, but I think after a game set in the balmy, sunlit California (sorry, I mean San Andreas) it would be interesting to have an autumn or winter setting somewhere to the north, where players could see snow.
A setting based on Detroit, for example, could highlight the decline in former industrial areas of America. And with Detroit having major crime and gang problems in the real world, it would be an interesting setting. A Washington DC analogue could focus more on decadence, elitism, and political corruption. And a setting with a Chicago theme could tackle the Mafia and organised crime. There are dozens of potential US cities which could serve as settings that would be different from what’s come before, but not so different as to be offputting to fans.
Leaving the United States entirely isn’t something I think would do well. GTA is, in a peculiar way, a distinctly American entity, not least with its huge emphasis on firearms. Placing the next title in Europe or South America might seem interesting, but I think it would lose too much of what makes a game “Grand Theft Auto” – as opposed to a generic action-shooter. Watch Dogs Legion (due out sometime before April 2021) is supposed to be set in London, so if Rockstar released GTA 6 any time around or shortly after that, it would draw immediate comparisons – and perhaps some criticism – if it were to use the same or a similar setting. Certainly since GTA 3 in 2001, the series has so wonderfully parodied the United States that leaving that behind entirely seems unthinkable.
But perhaps a split setting or a dual setting could work. In a way, San Andreas tried to accomplish this with its three cities. There were missions which took players from one city to another – across what was for the time an absolutely huge map – but generally, most missions took place within one city. In GTA 6, there could be two major locations – one in the United States which would serve as the player’s home base, and another in Europe, Asia, or South America which the player could visit for part of the game. Attempting something like this, and particularly finding a way to transition smoothly between two large open environments, would be ambitious, but it should be something next-gen hardware could handle.
While a split setting might work well from a story perspective, one thing players have enjoyed about GTA 5’s online mode is that there was one map, one open world, which everyone was traversing. If GTA 6 has two separate – albeit linked – locations, that potentially raises challenges when it comes to the online mode, and while these challenges could be overcome, anything which risks narrowing or splitting the playerbase ultimately carries a risk of reducing the mega-bucks Rockstar has been making.
Personally, I really liked GTA 5’s three-protagonist approach. Being able to switch between characters on the fly was great, and the interaction between the characters gave the story more depth than it would’ve had if we were just seeing the others as NPCs. So it would be great if GTA 6 could retain that idea, at least in some form. Certainly two playable characters could work, and it would potentially allow for co-op play. And yes, making one of the protagonists a woman, or giving players the ability to choose their character’s gender à la Mass Effect, would be a nice touch. I guess that’s not essential, but there’s no reason not to.
Finally, the character’s destination comes into frame. What’s their story arc going to be? Where are they going to end up at the end of the campaign? In past games we’ve seen players building a criminal empire of sorts, buying up business interests, earning more and more money, and essentially becoming the kingpin of their virtual city. There’s no need to stray too far from that formula, but some changes again to help the game stand out from its illustrious predecessor would be good. San Andreas dealt with street gangs, GTA 4 saw players tackle Russian/Eastern European organised crime, and GTA 5 most recently saw heists and corruption. Other entries in the series also saw heavier involvement of the Mafia. Organised crime is a theme running through GTA, but so is corruption. In a Washington DC-themed city, players could deal with corrupt politicians and a corrupt government, and that could be a fascinating parody of our current times. There could also be an exploration of drug cartels, or of Asian organised crime syndicates. In short, there’s a lot of organisations the game could explore without retreading too much old ground.
Here’s the thing: there’s no conclusion to this article. Until the game is officially announced and we know the rough outline of its setting and protagonist, there’s not much more to say except to fantasise about my “perfect” GTA game. The map should be big, but not so big it becomes a chore to drive from place to place. It should be diverse, with a city but also rural areas to give some variety. I’d really like to see a brand new setting, one that GTA hasn’t explored before. A Washington DC-themed city would be my first choice if I had to pick, but there are so many great options for cities to parody across the United States that almost any could be exciting. Time period-wise, I think the 1970s, 80s, or 90s would work well – it would be modern enough that players wouldn’t feel overwhelmed, but distinct enough to ensure the game wouldn’t be viewed as just a copy or iteration of its predecessor. But at the end of the day, if the writing is good, if the story is engaging, and the vehicles and guns are fun to play with, the game will be great.
From a purely financial point of view, I think an awful lot of people who enjoyed GTA 5 are going to jump into its sequel just to see what it’s like – and to get something new after a long time playing in the same sandbox. In that sense, almost anything Rockstar produces should be profitable. It would be up to them to turn that around and reproduce what GTA 5 managed, but I think with careful management of GTA 6’s online mode, that’s certainly a likely prospect.
Whenever it comes out, I’ll definitely jump in and see what they have in store!
Grand Theft Auto V is available on PC, Xbox One, and PlayStation 4. All Grand Theft Auto titles are the copyright of Rockstar Games and Take Two Interactive. This article contains the thoughts and opinions of one person only and is not intended to cause any offence.
Trekking with Dennis 