It’s been almost seven years since a new entry in the Grand Theft Auto series hit home consoles, so surely the industry is ready for GTA 6 to be officially unveiled? Developer Rockstar Games remains tight-lipped about the next entry in the crime series, but its release date now appears to have been narrowed down.
The studio’s parent company, Take-Two Interactive, recently filed its latest 10-K SEC report and there was an interesting revelation in there. The firm is planning to spend a whopping $89 million on marketing between April 1st, 2023 and March 31st the following year. That’s twice what it would normally shell out on marketing.
So, why would Take-Two suddenly double up on its marketing expenditure? The only possible explanation is the release of a new flagship game, and that’s almost certain to be GTA 6. After all, the last time the company increased its marketing budget this sharply was during the run-up to the launch of Red Dead Redemption 2.
This would mean that the next Grand Theft Auto is on course to arrive in late 2023 or early 2024. All signs are pointing to this, too. For instance, there were five years between the release of GTA 5 and Red Dead Redemption 2, which is the same timeframe a holiday 2023 release would put between GTA 6 and the Western sequel.
Addressing the news of Take-Two’s heavy marketing investment, Stephens analyst Jeff Cohen points out that this could well be an indication of when GTA 6 will launch, as similar analysis of the firm’s finances accurately predicted Red Dead 2‘s release date.
“We are not sure how much we should be reading into this shift, but we would note that this disclosure accurately predicted the launch of Red Dead Redemption 2 prior to that game’s announcement. [Take-Two management] has spoken very confidently about the pipeline over the next five years and existing live services execution has been excellent. However, the timing of the next Grand Theft Auto remains top-of-mind for investors, particularly with the stock near all-time highs.”
Previous reports suggest that the next Grand Theft Auto is in the works for PS5 and Xbox Series X and is in the relatively early stages of its development. Watch this space for more.