Rockstar Games' Grand Theft Auto V is so huge, even if it was released two years ago, players still flock to the massive action-adventure game like it was launched yesterday. Therefore, it won't be a surprise if Rockstar takes its sweet time developing the next installment in the Grand Theft Auto franchise for another few years.
And another few years gamers indeed have to wait for, at least according to the rumor mill. Word has it that Grand Theft Auto VI will hit the gaming community sometime in 2019. It's only speculation at this point, but considering Rockstar takes at least five years before pushing out new titles in its hottest franchise, the 2019 schedule is certainly within its timeline.
The far-off release date should also give the publisher a lot of time ironing out the wrinkles in the game's launch. GTA V, for instance, was plagued with technical issues at the start because Rockstar's servers were not prepared to take on the massive load as a result of the widespread interest in the game.
Another reason Rockstar could be taking time before the GTA VI launch is it could be working on the biggest map GTA players have ever seen. In April, International Business Times reported that Rockstar is mapping the entire United States for GTA VI, a feat that is certainly possible as it had already done so with The Crew. Unfortunately, the map was rather disappointing, but it doesn't mean Rockstar won't be able to turn things around for GTA VI.
A more recent rumor, however, points not to a U.S. map but to one that combines all the GTA cities into a single world. A post on Reddit details how the GTA VI map will have San Andreas in the southwest, with Las Venturas situated in the San Andreas area and San Fiero where San Francisco is in the U.S. map. Vice City will reportedly sit next to the east of Las Venturas, while Liberty City goes on top.
Back in 2012, Rockstar producer Leslie Benzies said the map expansion was something they are thinking of doing.
"Of course at some point we would like to have one big world containing all our cities and let the player fly between them and revisit their favorite areas," Benzies said when asked about the return of Vice City to the franchise.
GTA VI is also expected to finally have its very own female lead join Michael De Santa, Trevor Philips and Franklin Clinton in the roster of characters, and she is rumored to be portrayed by actress Eva Mendes. Neither Rockstar nor Mendes has confirmed or denied the rumors, but back in 2013, Rockstar Games Co-founder and Vice President Dan Houser said in an interview with The Guardian that they are indeed looking at the possibility of having a female lead for one of their games.
"In the future, could we do a game with a lead female character? Of course," he said. "We just haven't found the right game for it yet, but it's one of the things that we always think about."
