GTA 6 was originally 'Project Americas' and could have launched years ago
A new report reveals Grand Theft Auto 6 almost happened a lot faster. According to Bloomberg, Rockstar Games initially planned to develop it alongside Red Dead Redemption 2. That would have put its release in the early 2020s, per IGN.
Rockstar North co-studio head Rob Nelson told Bloomberg that Red Dead Redemption 2's ambition forced them to make it an "all-hands-on-deck" situation, pushing GTA 6 to the back burner. Nelson noted the delay ultimately helped, as everything built for the western game would "pay off" in the next GTA.
The game, originally codenamed "Project Americas," had a much bigger scope. Eurogamer reports that early plans in 2015 aimed to feature "big swaths of land across both North and South America." This was later scaled down to the Miami-inspired setting we know today.
Development faced major hurdles. The studio nearly doubled in size, contended with the COVID-19 pandemic's productivity hit, and suffered a massive leak of unfinished footage in 2022. Rockstar's head of publishing, Jennifer Kolbe, told Bloomberg that calling Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick to announce delays was tough. She recalled his initial reaction: "You're kidding. Please tell me you're kidding."
The studio also addressed its infamous crunch culture from the Red Dead 2 era. Kolbe stated to Bloomberg, "We all looked at each other and said, 'We're not doing it again like this.'" She acknowledged improvements while conceding some teams may still have experienced crunch.
Rockstar executives now vow the next project won't take another eight years, citing new tools and a solidified team structure. GTA 6 is set for release on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S on November 19.
