The Grand Theft Auto series is one of the best selling, most highly regarded franchises in all of entertainment. Grand Theft Auto V quickly broke countless video game and entertainment records as it eventually eclipsed the elusive 100 million sold mark. Grand Theft Auto IV is tied for the second highest-rated video game ever on Metacritic, only trailing The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. No one can accuse the other games of slouching; all of the console games are rated very highly on Metacritic.
While there is no release date set for GTA VI, fans can be assured by the track record of Rockstar with the series. However, for every beacon of hope for the future game, there are some worrying and frustrating things for the upcoming title.
10 Excited: Possible Return to Vice City
It’s hard for a game in a series as consistently good as GTA to stand out. Vice City stands out as an underused location in the GTA universe, emulating the city of Miami. The southern city provides rich opportunities within the lore to give fans drug-based enterprises.
Since Vice City was released well over a decade ago, the city has been woefully underused in the franchise. It’s about time to reuse the location, even if it’s not the main place for the game.
9 Worry: No Release Date
With no release date officially announced, fans have to rely on rumors and conjecture for the return of the beloved franchise. Rockstar loves to flaunt their ability to release games on their own schedule; any release by the company is a big release, and every game is almost assuredly going to be a big-budget blockbuster.
Since Rockstar is going to take their sweet time announcing anything related to GTA VI, there is no real way to guess when the game will come out. Hopefully, it will be sooner rather than later.
8 Excited: Next Gen Only
It may seem like a weird hope that Grand Theft Auto would be a next-gen exclusive. The series is huge, and virtually every gamer will purchase the title. With such high expectations for the next entry in the series, better hardware may be required.
Don’t be surprised if GTA is only released on the more powerful PS5 and Xbox Series X, foregoing the current hardware. It was a minor miracle that GTA V was able to run so smoothly on last-gen hardware; don’t expect Rockstar to make the game less impressive so that the Xbox One and PS4 can play them.
7 Worry: Possible Return to Liberty City
Liberty City, the GTA analog of New York City, has appeared in nine different games within the series. While it is fine for the game series to reuse popular locations, fans would love Rockstar to explore new locations or revisit less used cities.
Liberty City is a great location for the series, but fans need a longer break from the metropolis. Surely such a creative development team can add more variety to the franchise.
6 Excited: An Even Bigger World
Grand Theft Auto pushed the limits of video games by creating one of the most complete open worlds ever. With nearly a decade between releases, the better hardware available today should allow the developers to explore new frontiers by featuring a larger area and even more interactivity with the environment.
Even if the playable area is not massively increased, GTA could make the world feel bigger by allowing more opportunities to interact with the world. Entering malls, sports stadiums, skyscrapers, fast-food chains, and even NPC homes could make a smaller world feel much bigger.
5 Worry: Will Allow Travel Between Multiple Cities
One rumor that has been tossed around is that Rockstar will allow the players to move across several cities. These cities may not even be close to each other; players might have to fly between San Andreas and Vice City, for example.
The problem with the requisite flights for such an endeavor is that it fractures the game world into multiple pieces. Unless there is one continuous world with several cities, unnecessary loading screens will undoubtedly be added to compensate.
4 Excited: Releasing This Year
Every fan of the series is awaiting the new release. Some people think that the game could come as soon as this year as a launch title to coincide with the release of the new PlayStation and Xbox consoles.
Such a release would have left Rockstar with most of a decade to create their next big hit, and the recent addition of GTA V to Xbox Game Pass would seem like a great opportunity to drum interest in the series back up right before a new game.
3 Worry: PlayStation Timed Exclusive
While no one who owns or will own a PlayStation console will be offended by this rumor, Xbox and PC players would freak over this possibility. Too many games have timed exclusive deals with one console, and a huge release like this would only prove to publishers and consoles alike that it is worth the price to make such deals.
Even if your preferred platform secures a deal like this, no gamer should be glad at anti-consumer practices. What hurts some players now will undoubtedly hurt others another time.
2 Excited: Playable Characters Could Be Diversified
One rumor that should excite any fans of GTA is the possibility of more types of player characters. Some people think that a woman could potentially be one of the main characters in the game, which would introduce plenty of new opportunities in the story.
Another possibility is that a playable character will have a job as a cop. While the game obviously focuses on committing crimes, many GTA V online players enjoy role-playing as cops. The ability to play as a dirty cop or stay on the straight and narrow brings countless possibilities.
1 Worry: Won’t Come for Several Years
Despite the hopes of many players and the prevalence of several rumors about the game’s eventual release date, we still have no real idea when the game will come out. To the chagrin of fans, GTA V and Red Dead Redemption 2 both came out years after their predecessors, indicating that Rockstar loves to take their time.
Until Rockstar finally announces GTA VI, fans will forever be wondering if this is the year it finally comes out. Hopefully, they won’t be waiting as long as Half-Life fans for another release.
NEXT: 10 Great 2019 Games That Flew Under The Radar (& Their Metacritic Scores)
