Rockstar's Silence On GTA 6 Is Deafening

It's hard to believe that more than a year has already passed since the first "GTA 6" trailer graced the internet, but here we are. Gamers have pored over every small detail hidden in the trailer, all the while waiting not-so-patiently waiting for another burst of news about the game. Some of us foolishly hoped that Rockstar would show up to The Game Awards with a surprise trailer, but the ceremony has come and gone without a word from Rockstar.

At this point, "GTA" fans are despondent. They've waited more than a decade for the franchise's next installment, and now, after finally offering them a 90-second peek at the future Rockstar has left them hanging for more than a year. Maybe Rockstar's fans can take some small comfort in knowing that Bethesda's fans have been waiting for the second "Elder Scrolls 6" trailer since 2018, but that doesn't make 2024's lack of news any less disappointing. Yes, Rockstar's silence on "GTA 6" is deafening, but what does it actually mean? 

There are some troubling hints that "GTA 6" might get delayed and miss its 2025 release window, but on the other hand, no news could be good news. We have very little doubt that "GTA 6" is going to be incredible, but until we learn more about the game, it's worth looking into Rockstar's mysterious lack of communication.

Let's get some doomerism out of the way first: Some people are beginning to think that "GTA 6" isn't coming out in 2025. For one, Bloomberg journalist Jason Schreier made an eye-catching and disappointing prediction while speaking with Kinda Funny Games, saying, "I would be shocked if it actually made it next year. I think it will probably slip again because Rockstar games always slip." As a semi-recent example, Schreier pointed to "Red Dead Redemption 2," which was at one point slated for a 2017 release before eventually being pushed back to late 2018. Schreier has also reported that "GTA 6" has missed multiple internal development deadlines, the exact details of which haven't been shared with the public.

If Schreier turns out to be right and "GTA 6" is hit by a similar delay to Rockstar's last major release, that means we might not see the game until 2026. That's especially disappointing for one particular group of gamers because we already know that "GTA 6" isn't launching on PC right away. Therefore, PC players could be waiting even longer to get their hands on the game. But hey, at least they might be able to look forward to a new trailer sometime in 2025? Right?

"GTA" fans are looking for hope anywhere they can find it, and that means looking in some strange places. Fans have started comparing the release schedule of Rockstar's past game trailers to see if there's any hint for when a new batch of "GTA 6" news will drop. "Red Dead Redemption 2" got three trailers leading up to the release, plus one extra trailer just days before Rockstar dropped the game. If that pattern holds, we should get two more pretty lengthy trailers for "GTA 6." Unfortunately, only about 11 months passed between the first and second trailer for "Red Dead Redemption 2," so Rockstar has already changed from its previous strategy.

The only public comment we've gotten about the game recently is a reassurance from Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick. Though he didn't weigh in on the delay rumors directly, Zelnick promised, "I think it'll be extraordinary and worth waiting for." So there's no solid piece of good news here, but we aren't ashamed to engage in a bit of senseless optimism. Of course, that's a bit of a boilerplate response, and it doesn't give us any solid news about the game's plot, mechanics, or even it's marketing strategy. Of course, it's always possible that Rockstar is keeping quiet because the devs have their heads down and are working full steam ahead to make sure we're all playing "GTA 6" by the end of 2025.

Only time will tell. In the meantime, fans are coming up with increasingly wild theories about the next trailer reveal, combing through "GTA Online" promos and even the phases of the moon to try and make some sense out of the continued radio silence.