Rockstar's Judas Trademark Renewal Is Building Hype
Take-Two Interactive, the parent company for Rockstar Games, has just renewed an old trademark that has fans chomping at the bit for more information. Specifically, the trademark is for something only referred to as Judas, which should sound pretty familiar to anyone who has been following Take-Two in the last few years.
Back in 2016, Rockstar and Take-Two trademarked something called Judas, but it was never clear what the trademark was for. At the time, it was speculated that perhaps Judas was a working title or codename for an upcoming project, like the then-unannounced Red Dead Redemption 2 or Grand Theft Auto 6. Yes, we've really been looking for Grand Theft Auto 6 teases and rumors for at least that long. Nothing ever seemed to come of this iteration of Judas, so people sort of forgot about it until now.
It's worth noting that the Judas trademark that has just been filed pertains to "Entertainment services, namely, providing online games, providing a website featuring computer games and video games, and news, information, tips, hints, contests, computer interface themes, enhancements, audio-visual content, music, films, videos, television programs, animated series, and other multimedia materials in the field of computer games and video games."
In other words, it's looking like whatever Judas is, it's going to be a massive project that encompasses several forms of media. The question is: does this have something to do with a new game or something we already know to be in the works? Is it a codename for something we're very familiar with or is Take-Two looking into launching an all-new franchise?
The theories surrounding what Judas could potentially be range from the intriguing to the completely insane. This is the Internet, after all, and fans of Take-Two and Rockstar's games (particularly the GTA franchise) love to reach for any and all signs when trying to figure out the company's plans. After all, before the new GTA game was confirmed, these were the folks looking for teases in every update of Rockstar's website and the Instagram accounts of former Rockstar artists. This isn't a bad thing at all, though. If nothing else, it shows that the fanbase is still there and more excited than ever to see what Take-Two has in store for them.
Fans on Reddit are already picking apart the trademark filing and trying to figure out what it all means, and some of the theories are rather compelling. There are of course those who believe that Judas may be the working title for GTA 6, which isn't a bad guess. It could help Rockstar and Take-Two to keep a lower profile if the game is developed under a more low profile title.
Other GTA-related theories abound, of course. One fan thinks that Judas could be tied to a new GTA Online heist mission, which is certainly an interesting possibility. We know that plenty of GTA 5 single-player content has been scrapped and repurposed for GTA Online in the past, like the Diamond Casino missions. Maybe Judas started as a single-player DLC for GTA 5 years ago and is only now being redeveloped as an online mission.
Some have also latched onto the truly bonkers concept that Rockstar could be planning a Biblical game of some kind, with one theory being that the game will cast players literally as Judas Iscariot. That, uh, would be something to see, but it's highly unlikely. As one fan quite bluntly pointed out, "There is an absolute 0% that this is what the game would be about. Rockstar likes to go against the grain and be a bit edgy but this would be a bit far even for them I believe."
It's all rather curious. Fans keep coming back to the question of why the Judas name and trademark was left to sit for so long. As YouTuber TheNathanNs mentioned, a Twitter account for "Judas The Game" tweeted exactly one time back in 2016, the same year the original trademark was filed. At the time, that account promised that something big was coming to that year's E3. However, it appears as though that never came to pass. TheNathanNs also seems to think that the "Judas The Game" account may not be entirely official, particularly since it hilariously only has ten followers. Still, it's very odd that a random fan would create and tweet from an account like that.
As with everything related to Rockstar/Take-Two game announcements, it's hard to suss out what's official and what is simply wild conjecture from fans. One thing is for sure, though: Rockstar devotees will be sure to keep a close eye on it. After all, those are the folks who made Grand Theft Auto 5 one of the best-selling games of all time.