Aha! “Preliminary” Work Has Begun On GTA 6

The website TechRadar has published an interview with an unnamed source inside Rockstar who claims “preliminary work” has started on the next Grand Theft Auto game. That only took three years. It’ll probably take another three years to get the finished product, but hey, better this than nothing.

The exact location the game will take place in is unknown, and according to the source, hasn’t been decided yet. I would place my odds on it being one of the usual locations again, a parody of a US city. However, the source says Rockstar was once flirting with changing that tradition….

He says Rockstar briefly considered setting a GTA in Tokyo, and sent some of their staff on a trip to the Japanese city to gather research and inspiration. Why was the idea dropped? “The road system was seen to be problematic and became one reason the idea was canned…as time has gone on, Rockstar has realized the difficulty in moving Grand Theft Auto outside of the USA, where it has firmly embedded itself. There are a number of series staples, from brands to cars, that Rockstar would likely have to change if a future GTA was set somewhere else.”

So there’s your answer…too much work. When did this experiment happen? It might’ve been back in 2003, if a patent from Rockstar is any evidence. “GTA: Tokyo” was trademarked by the company that year, as was “GTA: Bogota” and “GTA: Sin City.” They apparently had more than one idea for a change of scenery.