Grand Theft Auto 6, Rockstar Games’ long-gestating, manically anticipated sequel to Grand Theft Auto 5, has reached an almost mythic status in gaming. A decade after the release of GTA 5, we don’t yet have an official teaser or trailer for GTA 6, even as the hype for the game shoots beyond orbit. There have been several leaks and rumours, most notably the infamous hack last year that released in-development footage from the game. Now, a promotional post from Rockstar has fans speculating over a GTA 6 announcement.
A promotional post for the GTA Online moon festival event has reportedly dropped hints about a possible announcement for GTA 6, or so some fans believe. In its post, Rockstar used a promotional image which features two characters wearing the free moon festival tee. The recognisable Vinewood sign from GTA Online can be seen in the background, but only the letters ‘V’ and ‘I’ are visible. Get it? ‘VI,’ as in GTA VI, which has made some fans think that an announcement for the sequel is imminent.
Yes, the theory seems to be grasping at straws, but desperate GTA fans will take anything at this point. And that’s not all, as reported by IGN; some eager fans seem to have run wild looking for more GTA 6 clues and found hints in the phase of the Moon depicted in the promotional image. The image also includes the Moon in the backdrop, just above the Vinewood sign. According to the report, X user @Dirty_Worka has found evidence of a GTA 6 announcement on the Moon.
Hear me out…
The moon in the VI tease tweet from @RockstarGames is a Waning Gibbous at ~85%. The moon enters that phase again on Monday, 2-OCT-2023 and then again on Wednesday, 1-NOV-2023. Could this latest Tweet not only tease VI, but point to the next big announcement? pic.twitter.com/dO78v3eNNq
— Dirty_Worka 💀 (@Dirty_Worka) September 29, 2023
“The moon in the VI tease tweet from @RockstarGames is a Waning Gibbous at ~85 percent. The moon enters that phase again on Monday, 2-OCT-2023 and then again on Wednesday, 1-NOV-2023,” the user said in their post on X (formerly Twitter), speculating that the dates could be a clue for Rockstar’s next big announcement.
Another user on X, @GTAVInewz, speculated that GTA 6 would be revealed today, i.e., October 3. Their theory is based on the fact that Rockstar has announced and released past games on a Tuesday in October. These theories seem to be taking a few creative liberties and stretching the fabric of plausibility, but can you blame eager fans when Rockstar itself has practically been incommunicado over GTA 6 news? While we know the game is in development, we have yet to get a trailer for the GTA 5 sequel.
The most credible hints about GTA 6’s release have come from Rockstar parent Take-Two Interactive’s earnings call. The company has now twice mentioned during its quarterly forecasts that it remains confident about seeing a “significant inflection point” in fiscal 2025 when it expects net bookings of over $8 billion (roughly Rs. 66,242 crores). Industry insiders and analysts believe that such an uptick can only come from the much-awaited Grand Theft Auto 6.
In February, Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick told IGN that the GTA 6 leak had not affected the company’s business but was an “emotional matter” for the development team. “We take leaks very seriously indeed, and they disappoint all of us, it’s really frustrating and upsetting to the team,” Zelnick had said. “However, as a business matter, we’re not affected. But as a personal matter and an emotional matter, our teams are affected.”
In September 2022, an audacious hack targeting Rockstar Games revealed in-development gameplay footage from GTA 6. The leak, which popped up on a popular GTA forum, consisted of over 90 videos showing two playable characters, Lucia and Jason, all but confirming that the next Grand Theft Auto will have a female protagonist.