Buried in a recent document submitted to the UK's Competition and Markets Authority, Microsoft have revealed that they're internally planning for GTA 6 to be released in 2024. And they're basing that belief on leaks!
Microsoft, as you all probably know by now, are trying to buy Activision Blizzard. To do so, they need to persuade various consumer-rights authorities around the world that this acquisition will not give them a monopoly. One such authority who need to be persuaded are the UK's CMA (Competition and Markets Authority).
Microsoft recently submitted a document to the CMA outlying their case for why this purchase would not be anticompetitive. They're effectively making the argument that Sony, and others, are so dominant already that exclusive access to Call of Duty would not swing the market substantially in Microsoft's favor.
And as part of their document to the CMA they discuss another huge player, Take-Two, who own Rockstar. While discussing Take-Two they briefly mention their own internal estimate for the release of GTA 6.
Microsoft Expects GTA 6 Release In 2024
Microsoft believe GTA 6 will be released in 2024 based on an article published by Tech Radar, which quotes an analyst from an investment firm. Now, you have to remember that it's in Microsoft's best interest to suggest to the CMA that they're competing against a very healthy market. So while they might genuinely believe the game will be released in 2024, you should take everything from these proceedings with a grain of salt.
Why do we sound so skeptical? Because just a few weeks ago a 17-year-old from the UK hacked into Rockstar and then leaked hundreds of gigabytes of internal documents relating to GTA 6. We were quite certain that this would create a significant delay as development was put on hold and security tightened. Also, the leaked images and videos of GTA 6 looked quite a few years away from being ready for release.
So far Rockstar have not responded, but as soon as we hear anything official from them, you'll be able to find it here.
And if you still somehow aren't up-to-date with GTA, you pick a copy of GTA 5 for a very low price these days. You want to be ready for this puppy's release...