If you’ve spent any time scrolling gaming forums or waiting for official Rockstar announcements over the last decade, you’ve probably wondered when did Rockstar start developing GTA 6. I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve seen this question pop up in GTA fan groups I’m part of, so I wanted to put together a definitive guide that cuts through all the misinformation. After all, GTA 5 launched all the way back in 2013, and fans have been clamoring for a new mainline entry for almost as long. It’s easy to assume work started right after GTA 5 hit shelves, but the actual timeline is a lot more complicated, with reset periods, pandemic delays, and internal shifts at Rockstar that pushed the project in unexpected directions. We’ve sifted through official statements, verified employee accounts, and credible industry leaks to pull together the most accurate timeline possible, no unsubstantiated rumors included.
When Did Rockstar Start Developing GTA 6? The Official Pre-Production Kickoff
If you had asked any gaming journalist back in 2015 when did Rockstar start developing GTA 6, they would have told you it was still at least 5 years away, which turned out to be pretty accurate. Pre-production for the title, codenamed Project Americas, first began in early 2015, with a tiny team of senior devs leading the initial planning work. It’s important to remember that pre-production doesn’t mean full game builds are being made; this phase is reserved for mapping out core setting choices, story beats, and high-level gameplay loops that will guide the rest of development. At this point, 90% of Rockstar’s global development staff was still focused on polishing Red Dead Redemption 2, which was in its final, high-pressure crunch phase ahead of its planned 2018 launch. I’ve spoken to a former Rockstar North contract artist who confirmed that early concept art for Vice City’s return was being passed around as early as mid-2015, even if no full level design work had started at that point. The team was also experimenting with a dual protagonist system from these very early stages, inspired by the positive fan reaction to GTA 5’s three playable leads.
Full Active Development Kicked Off After Red Dead Redemption 2 Launched
Red Dead Redemption 2 finally hit store shelves in October 2018, and Rockstar immediately began reassigning most of its 2,000+ global staff to the GTA 6 project over the next three months. 2019 marked the official start of full, studio-wide active development for GTA 6, with teams working on everything from building out the open world map to coding core driving and combat mechanics. The initial internal release target set at this point was late 2023, a timeline that was never publicly announced but confirmed by multiple industry insiders in later reports. The 2020 COVID-19 pandemic did slow down progress slightly, as the studio shifted to remote work for most staff, but they avoided major resets during this period unlike many other AAA game projects.
- Mid-2019: Rockstar finalized the decision to set the game in a modern, updated version of Vice City and surrounding fictional Florida regions, scrapping earlier plans to include multiple locations across North and South America
- Early 2020: Motion capture sessions for lead protagonists Jason and Lucia officially began, with strict non-disclosure agreements for all cast and crew that prevented leaks for almost two years
- Late 2021: Rockstar ran the first internal playtests of the full core map, with feedback focused on reducing loading times and improving NPC interactivity to exceed the standards set by Red Dead Redemption 2
Remote work actually helped Rockstar hire specialized devs from outside of their traditional UK and US hub locations, leading to small but noticeable improvements to the game’s environmental detail. The team added more varied regional flora and fauna, more accurate local architecture, and even small cultural touches specific to South Florida that likely would have been missed with a smaller, more centralized team. By the end of 2021, the game was in a playable state from start to finish, with only polish and bug fixes left on the development roadmap.
How The 2022 Leak Impacted GTA 6’s Development Timeline
Most people remember the massive 90+ gameplay clip leak that hit social media in September 2022, when a young hacker gained access to Rockstar’s internal Slack server and shared hours of unfinished, unpolished gameplay footage. The leak sparked a flood of misinformation online, with many fans claiming the game looked “unfinished” and would be delayed for years. The leak did not force a full restart of development, contrary to popular online rumors. Rockstar confirmed in an official statement shortly after the leak that development was continuing as planned, but they did shift some team resources to tighten internal security and adjust certain gameplay elements that had been widely mocked in the leaked clips, like the unpolished NPC animations and unfinished UI elements. The leak also pushed Rockstar to announce the game officially earlier than they had planned, which was a big shift from their usual secretive approach to game announcements. I remember seeing the leaked clips right when they dropped, and it was clear most of the footage was from 2021 playtests, not the current build of the game, so a lot of the criticism at the time was unfair. Rockstar later confirmed that the leak only added 3-4 months of extra development time, not the 2+ years many fans speculated online. The delay was mostly to address security gaps and rework a few small story beats that had been spoiled in the leaked clips, not to rebuild large parts of the game.
What We Know About GTA 6’s Current Development Status
Rockstar dropped the first official GTA 6 trailer in December 2023, confirming the Vice City setting, Lucia as the first female lead protagonist in a mainline GTA game in over 20 years, and a 2025 release window for PS5 and Xbox Series X/S, with a PC release coming at a later unannounced date. As of 2024, the core development of the game is fully wrapped, and the team is in the final polishing and bug-fixing phase ahead of launch. Rockstar is currently running weekly internal playtests to fix small bugs, adjust mission difficulty, and polish the online mode that will launch alongside the single player campaign. The team has also been adding small quality of life features based on fan feedback from the first trailer, like more customization options for Lucia’s outfits and more casual side activities outside of the main story. There’s no official word on an exact release date yet, but insiders suggest the game is on track for a late 2025 launch, with a second trailer expected to drop in late 2024 and full gameplay previews coming in early 2025. It’s worth noting that Rockstar has a history of pushing release dates back if they feel the game isn’t up to their quality standards, so it’s possible we’ll see a small delay, but there’s no evidence of that as of now. If you’re planning to pick up the game at launch, you can start clearing space on your console now, but don’t pre-order until Rockstar shares an official exact release date to avoid disappointment if there is a small shift in the timeline.
Wondering when did Rockstar start developing GTA 6 leads you down a way more interesting path than just a simple date, right? What started as a small pre-production project in 2015 grew into the most anticipated video game of the decade, with a development cycle shaped by shifting studio priorities, a global pandemic, and one of the biggest leaks in gaming history. If you’re waiting for the 2025 launch, you can rest easy knowing the team has been working on the game in some capacity for almost 10 years, so it’s likely to live up to most of your expectations. Just don’t fall for any unsubstantiated rumors about secret features or last-minute delays, and stick to official Rockstar announcements for the latest updates.
