Rockstar Games recently spoke with Bloomberg about the making of "Grand Theft Auto VI," revealing that the game was originally developed under the code name "Project Americas." The initial plan called for an open world spanning North and South America before the map was scaled back to Miami and its surrounding areas.
Rockstar North co-studio head Rob Nelson led a research trip to Miami as early as 2015. However, the expanding scope of "Red Dead Redemption 2" pushed the project back several years. By 2019, the dual-protagonist setup featuring Jason and Lucia had taken shape, but the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted the finer details of development and forced the team to adjust to working from home.
"Red Dead Redemption 2" sparked controversy over excessive crunch, prompting Rockstar to reassess its workplace culture, according to publishing head Jennifer Kolbe. “We looked at each other and said, ‘We’re not going to do it the same way again.’ It hasn’t been perfect, but it’s certainly better than it was on ‘Red Dead Redemption 2.’”
“Every time I say we haven’t crunched, someone says, ‘I did,’” Kolbe added. “I don’t want to argue with individual teams or employees, but I think we approached it differently this time, and I’m proud of that.”
Most of the dozens of employees interviewed agreed that conditions had improved, though Rockstar is still facing a labor dispute in Scotland after firing 34 workers. In 2022, hackers used phishing tactics to breach Rockstar’s internal Slack platform, leaking unfinished gameplay footage. Head of development Aaron Garbut described the incident as unbearable, comparing it to someone rummaging through his dirty laundry and getting inside his head.
The release date also shifted repeatedly, moving from its original 2025 window to May 2026 before ultimately landing on November 19. Kolbe said that when she called Take-Two Interactive CEO Strauss Zelnick to inform him of the second delay, he responded in disbelief: “You’re kidding, right? Please tell me you’re kidding.” He accepted the decision after hearing the reasons behind it.
Rockstar said the engine, tools and team built for this project should help speed up development on future games. "Grand Theft Auto VI" is scheduled to launch on November 19, 2026, for PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S. A PC release has yet to be confirmed.
via： Bloomberg