Rockstar Games has revealed that Grand Theft Auto 6 was initially codenamed "Project Americas," with early plans to encompass vast territories across both North and South America. This information emerged from a comprehensive interview with Rockstar conducted by Bloomberg, which delved into the game's origins, development journey, and significant events such as delays, leaks, and trailer releases.
The initial research trip for the game, then known as Project Americas, took place in 2015 with a team visiting Miami. The ambition was to create a world spanning large parts of both continents. However, this scope was eventually scaled back to focus on Miami and its surrounding regions. The game's development was also initially intended to proceed alongside Red Dead Redemption 2, but the increasing scale and ambition of that Western title led to Project Americas being postponed by several years.
Following the release of Red Dead Redemption 2, Rockstar experienced significant growth, nearly doubling its workforce from 2,441 to 4,711 employees across 12 offices. This period also saw the departure of Rockstar co-founder Dan Houser, a key writer for previous GTA titles, leading to promotions for Rob Nelson, Aaron Garbut, and Phil Hooker into development leadership roles.
By 2019, the foundational elements of GTA 6 were in place, including the concept of dual protagonists Jason and Lucia. However, refining the game's finer details and mechanics proved to be a lengthy process, further complicated by the COVID-19 pandemic, which necessitated remote work. "Trying to keep a team together through that is really challenging," Nelson commented.
Rockstar also addressed the issue of crunch, a practice that came under scrutiny during the development of Red Dead Redemption 2. Jennifer Kolbe, Rockstar's head of publishing, stated that the studio underwent a period of self-reflection, leading to changes in their approach. "We all looked at each other and said, 'We're not doing it again like this,'" she said. "It's not been perfect, but it's certainly better than Red Dead 2 was." While acknowledging that crunch may still occur for some teams, Kolbe expressed pride in the implemented improvements.
While many employees reportedly expressed positive sentiments regarding improvements in work culture and management, the company is currently involved in an employment tribunal in Scotland. This tribunal concerns the dismissal of 34 employees, predominantly from the Rockstar North office, for alleged gross misconduct, which the affected employees have characterized as union-busting.
Rockstar faced a major security breach in 2022 when a phishing attack compromised the company's Slack, leading to the leak of unfinished GTA 6 footage. Aaron Garbut described the experience as deeply invasive, likening it to having one's private work exposed. "It's really weirdly invasive. And so it's quite hard to deal with on an emotional level."
As development continued, it became apparent that more time was needed to complete the game. The first trailer for GTA 6, released in 2023, indicated a 2025 release window. This date was later revised to May 2026, a decision Rockstar conveyed to Strauss Zelnick, CEO of Take-Two Interactive, Rockstar's parent company. Kolbe recalled Zelnick's initial disbelief, followed by understanding once the reasons were explained, highlighting the company's fortune in having supportive leadership.
Rockstar did not comment on the ongoing leaks of GTA 6 footage attributed to the group known as Cyberleek during the interview. Looking ahead, Phil Hooker stated that the studio aims to avoid an eight-year gap before its next release, citing the development of enhanced engine, tools, and a more experienced team as factors that will expedite future projects. Garbut added that while significant foundational changes were made for GTA 6, these advancements will be leveraged rather than discarded.
Grand Theft Auto 6 is currently slated for release on November 19th for PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series S/X. A PC version is reportedly scheduled for the first quarter of 2027.