Summary

• GTA 6 release date may be earlier than thought, with a potential launch in early 2025, based on staff return to office for final development stretch.
• Rockstar aims for in-house development amidst leaks, citing security and productivity reasons, following past trailer and gameplay leaks.
• Fans excited for GTA 6 launch after over a decade since last entry, with more official footage expected in the months.

A new report could indicate that Grand Theft Auto 6's release date could be earlier than most had previously assumed. The game's first trailer gave players an insight into the highly anticipated crime title's main story and setting and announced a release window of "2025". While this release window was vague, it gave Rockstar an entire year to work with, rather than a set date to adhere to and risk having to announce any delays.

According to Bloomberg's Jason Schreier, Rockstar Games emailed its staff on February 28, 2024, asking all employees to return to the office five days a week starting in April for the "final stretch" of development. This suggests that while the release window does cover the entirety of next year, Grand Theft Auto 6 may be on track for a launch in early 2025.

Rockstar's Return To The Office Is For "Security And Productivity Reasons"

GTA 6 Has Suffered Several Leaks

While reportedly some of the employees are "not thrilled" with the decision, Rockstar has cited "security and productivity" as the main reason behind this decision. The company has faced several major security breaches, with the biggest being the 90 early development videos leaked in September 2022 which showed the game's Bonnie and Clyde-esque protagonists, return to Vice City, and new gameplay mechanics such as hostage situations in robberies over a year before Rockstar was ready to via its reveal trailer.

The aforementioned, highly-anticipated trailer was also leaked the day before its announced launch in December 2023. While the footage was low quality and had a large watermark across it, it was still enough to force Rockstar to release the official version earlier than planned. With these leaks in mind, it's unsurprising that Rockstar wants to try to bring all development in-house to monitor it more closely to avoid anything from getting out to the public prior to the studio's official marketing campaign in the run-up to Grand Theft Auto 6's 2025 launch.

Ignoring the various GTA rereleases over the years, it's been over a decade since the last entry, with Grand Theft Auto 5 releasing two console generations ago on the PS3 and Xbox 360 in September 2013. If Bloomberg's report is correct, many fans should be pleased to hear they won't have to wait too much longer for Grand Theft Auto 6's launch and should expect to see more official footage from the game in the coming months.

Source: Bloomberg, Jason Schreier/X