While many have quietly found themselves hoping that a Grand Theft Auto 6 announcement is imminent, developments today suggest fans are only setting themselves up for disappointment. According to UK tabloid the Daily Star, equity firm Jeffries recently held talks with industry veteran Darion Lowenstein. With Rockstar one of the more high-profile developers listed on his résumé, discussion quickly turned to the Grand Theft Auto franchise and, more specifically, when exactly he expected a sequel to 2013’s fifth installment to arrive.
You can find the pertinent details below but suffice it to say, the outlook doesn’t look good for those hoping for an imminent reveal.
“As a former Rockstar employee, Darion noted that the Houser brothers place all their emphasis on game quality rather than hitting a deadline,” Jeffries’ press release notes. “His absolute best-case-scenario for a game release is Holiday 2021,” it continues, “though he does not expect an announcement/trailer anytime soon.”
A potentially devastating contradiction of rumors currently doing the rounds online, then, but there are a few things worth noting here. First and foremost, Lowenstein, despite clearly having a deep knowledge of Rockstar’s inner workings, no longer works at the company, meaning it’s entirely possible that the studio’s development process has undergone a seismic shift in how it approaches deadlines since his departure.
What’s more, the optimistic Holiday 2021 launch window actually lines up with several projections referenced in leaks, with the only contradictory elements of Lowenstein’s comments having to do with Grand Theft Auto 6‘s initial announcement. Recent hearsay has pegged Rockstar’s first official confirmation of the sequel’s existence for February, an outcome that the former clearly believes is incredibly unlikely.
Whatever the case, we’ll be keeping an eye out over the next few weeks for even the slightest hint of movement from the house that built GTA. In the meantime, though, be sure to regale us with your own guesses (educated or outlandish, it doesn’t matter) via the comments below!