'GTA 6' Release Date Rumors: Will Players Return To Vice City In 2017?

Is “Grand Theft Auto 6” coming in 2017? Or is that tentative release date just a rumor?

Speculation began last month, when New York City-based developer Rockstar Games announced 2013’s “GTA 5” would be coming to the PC, Xbox One and PS4 by the end of 2014. Though Rockstar didn’t confirm “GTA 6” was in the works, it didn’t deny the rumor, either.

Some reports say the next “GTA” game will return to Liberty City, a fictionalized version of New York City. Others say the “GTA VI” will take place in more than one city, and yet another rumor claimed "GTA 6" will take place in Vice City, a fictionalized version of Miami. The original "Grand Theft Auto: Vice City" launched in 2002 and is now available on nine platforms, including the PC, PlayStation 2 and Xbox.

It’s also rumored the title will release in June 2017, though, as usual, Rockstar hasn’t responded to any of these rumors. Earlier this week, a Rockstar employee took to Reddit and debunked the alleged release date, saying the company was hard at work on another game. Still, this doesn’t mean “GTA 6” isn’t in the works for the future.

“We’ve got about 45 years worth of ideas we want to do,” President of Rockstar Games North Leslie Benzies told Develop last October. “We don’t know what ‘GTA VI’ will be, but we’ve got some ideas.”

After “GTA 5’s” launch on Sept. 17, 2013, Rockstar Games focused on improving “GTA 5 Online.” “GTA Online is the focus right now. There ain’t no rest between finishing ‘V’ and then Online. Plus we have some other things -- stuff, DLC, I don’t know how to describe it exactly -- that we’d like to do, and we’ll pick the right ones,” Benzies continued.

Benzies stressed the importance of paying attention to the minor details in Rockstar’s games. “That last 5 to 10 per cent of work on the game makes a huge difference. This level of perfection is not seen or understood in the majority of the industry. We can all make a car drive down a street in a game, but can you do it in style? Everyone’s got characters that are walking around but can they walk?”

The developer also looked back on previous “GTA” titles. “’GTA III’ was good, but … it was unexpected. Being able to actually make it was a bit of a shock to us. The fact it all works and was good fun was a surprise. A lot of people in the studio at the time said we couldn’t do it.” He also talked about 2004’s “Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas. “It was good, it combined all the stuff we had done so far. It felt the most cohesive and the scale was huge.”