‘Grand Theft Auto 6’ Currently In Development, Rockstar Scraps Rumored ‘GTA: Tokyo’ Release


Grand Theft Auto 6 is reportedly in the preliminary stages of development, although a new report suggests that Rockstar Games has yet to select an official location for the sixth installment of the action-adventure gaming series.

While rumors regarding a tentative release date and official location for GTA 6 have been widely speculated since the release of GTA V in 2013, it appears that an unnamed source close to Rockstar Games is now speaking out about the company’s progress on the series’ sixth installment.

In a new report published by TechRadar, a reported source close to Rockstar confirms rumors suggesting that the gaming company has already begun the “preliminary work” for Grand Theft Auto 6, albeit noting that a location has yet to be determined.

The source further reveals that despite fans’ hopes of Tokyo being chosen as the official location for GTA 6, Rockstar has reportedly scrapped the idea due to difficulties associated with moving the game outside of the United States, Complex reports.

While the source admits that Rockstar was “serious” about Tokyo’s potential for becoming a full GTA game, noting that the company had carried out several reference trips to the Japanese capital in order to “get a feel for the area,” Rockstar ultimately canned the idea because “the road system was seen to be problematic.”

According to the source, GTA: Tokyo was supposed to come to fruition around the same time of GTA: 3 and Grand Theft Auto: Vice City‘s release in 2001-2002, with Take-Two Interactive having filed the trademarks for Tokyo, GTA: Bogota and Grand Theft Auto: Sin City as early as 2003.

While there’s currently little word regarding the status of GTA: Bogota and Sin City, the source further adds that Rockstar has begun to realize the difficulty in moving the game outside of the United States given the number of “series staples,” such as brands and cars, that would likely need to be changed in the event that a non-U.S. based location was selected for a future game.

The news comes on the heels of reports suggesting that GTA‘s publishing company, Take-Two, is intentionally delaying the release of Grand Theft Auto 6 in an attempt to maximize consumer interest surrounding the next installment in the series.

According to N4BB, Take-Two’s president, Karl Slatoff, recently dispelled rumors suggesting that Grand Theft Auto 6 would see a release in the near future, noting that the company “has no intention of releasing its franchises annually.”

The site explains that Take-Two feels that the “delayed gratification” of each installment will be more rewarding for fans and notes that the company appears to be “intent on deliberately deferring the launch” of the next installment in the Grand Theft Auto series.

The site also notes that GTA: San Andreas voice actor Young Maylay appeared to weigh-in on the hype surrounding the gaming series’ next installment when he took to Instagram to share a photo of his character, Carl “CJ” Johnson, alongside a photo of GTA 5 character, Franklin Clinton, with the caption, “#CJ #Franklin #GTA DLC? Shh!”

The photo, which was shared alongside a photo of Maylay and Clinton’s voice actor, Shawn “Solo” Fonteno, has already begun to fuel speculation of an impending GTA: V DLC release; although, fans pointed out that Maylay was quick to edit his previous Instagram caption to remove the “DLC” hashtag. Currently, neither Take-Two nor Rockstar have confirmed rumors of GTA 6‘s development status nor is there any confirmation of the rumored GTA V DLC release.

What are you hoping to see in Grand Theft Auto 6?

[Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images]

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