Microsoft expects GTA 6 release date to be set sometime in 2024. The company made this statement as part of its arguments in favor of the Activision Blizzard deal, which UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) released yesterday. It’s unlikely that Microsoft is privy to Rockstar Games’ release plans, but it’s an interesting speculation nonetheless.
GTA 5 came out in 2013 and since then, the creators have made attempts to remove the transphobic and offensive jokes from the latest console of the game. Going forward, Rockstar Games, which is a segment of Take-Two Interactive Software Inc, will have more inclusive plotlines and will be more sensitive to issues such as making jokes about the marginalised section of society. They are also avoiding the gender gap and changing the overall toxic masculine culture associated with the GTA franchise.
Although Rockstar Games has been secretive about its exact release date, plot line and characterisation, there is some information out in the public domain which suggests that there may be a playable female protagonist of Latina origin. Also, the makers seem to be inspired by the American classic Bonnie and Clyde (1967).
It's entire possible that Microsoft, being the major platform owner it is, has inside knowledge as to Rockstar's plans for GTA 6, but it's also possible it's purely referring to publicly available reports and rumors when it says GTA 6 is expected to launch in 2024.
Neither Rockstar nor its parent company Take-Two have confirmed a release date or even a target year for GTA 6. However, the fact that Microsoft has shared these claims in an official report, without contesting them, seems notable in and of itself, even if it is part of a smokescreen of big games meant to cover Call of Duty.
