‘GTA 6’ Release Date Rumors: 2018 Could Be The Year; Playable Map Of USA On Tap?

The “Grant Theft Auto 6” rumor mill is churning once again. This time, speculation surrounds a possible 2018 release date for the much-anticipated newest version of the open world action-adventure game.

While GTA is typically set in one city – think the fictional Miami known as Vice City or the New York equivalent Liberty City – fans are pushing for an America-wide playable map.

While this would be an amazing addition to the popular series of games, it could be hard to pull off. “Grand Theft Auto 5” was released in 2013, five years after “Grand Theft Auto 4.” It took that much time for developer and publisher Rockstar to move gameplay from Liberty City to Los Santos.

Even if Rockstar were to just update each of the cities it has built at the moment and link them all together, it could take years to optimize the software for next-gen consoles.

Based on Rockstar’s previous release schedule, 2018 is a real possibility. While there were only a few years between the release of “Grand Theft Auto,” “Grand Theft Auto 2,” and “Grand Theft Auto 3,” Rockstar been taking longer between launches, most likely due to the standard of graphics and calls for higher-level gameplay and Easter eggs.

In fact, Rockstar took seven years to develop and launch "GTA 4" following the "GTA 3" release, so depending on its plans for "GTA 6," we could even be looking at a 2020 release date.

Either way, it might be best to wait on official word from Rockstar, and just enjoy playing "GTA 5" and looking up cheats in the meantime.