Rockstar Promises Next Game After GTA 6 Won't Take Another 8 Years

Rockstar has pledged that its next game following GTA 6 won't take as long to release, though it stopped short of revealing what that game might be.

GTA 6 is finally set to launch in November, eight years after the release of its last game, Red Dead Redemption 2. In a new Bloomberg report detailing the challenges Rockstar faced during GTA 6's development, company leadership said whatever comes next won't take as long because the work done for GTA 6 provides a foundation for faster follow-ups.

"The engine, the tools and the team we've built during this project will allow us to do things more quickly," said Phil Hooker, co-head of development.

"I feel confident that we can build on top of this and go more sideways than upwards to build more compelling content."

"We foundationally changed a lot of stuff on this project," added co-head of development Aaron Garbut. "But now it's done, and we're not going to rip it apart."

The question fans are asking is: what will Rockstar's next game be? Bloomberg compares the release of GTA 6 to GTA 3, noting that the first 3D GTA game paved the way for the quick release of Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, which launched a year later in 2002. Could Rockstar soon follow GTA 6 with another GTA game, perhaps set in a different city?

Many hope and expect Rockstar to make Red Dead Redemption 3, although Rockstar itself hasn't indicated it has plans to do so. A year ago, Rockstar Games co-founder and former lead writer Dan Houser said RDR3 "will probably happen." In 2023, Roger Clark, who played Arthur Morgan, the main playable protagonist of Red Dead Redemption 2, said he was "certain" fans would see Red Dead Redemption 3 "one day," but qualified that statement by saying he had no idea when that would be. Clark also ruled out the return of Arthur Morgan in the game, should it come to be. If you've played Red Dead Redemption 2, this might seem like stating the obvious, but there's always the chance Rockstar may consider another prequel of some kind.

"I'm certain we will see Red Dead Redemption 3 one day," Clark said. "When that will be — I have absolutely no idea. Don't count on Arthur's involvement either. His story has been told, I feel."

In a subsequent interview with IGN, Clark expanded on his thoughts: "Yeah, that got really picked up! I would have thought that was obvious though. Wouldn't you? And it's not like I have any insider information whatsoever, but of course there's going to be another Red Dead. It sold over 60 million copies!"

He continued: "Strauss Zelnick, the CEO of Take-Two said it himself. He said GTA and Red Dead are prominent franchises for Rockstar Games and that they will be returning to them in the future. So there's no doubt there will be another Red Dead. But if Arthur Morgan will be involved? I highly doubt it, to be honest. And I think it's going to be quite some time before we even see a snifter of anything new Red Dead related. I have no idea how it would pan out, but I wouldn't bet on Arthur being a part of it."

In April this year, Hollywood star Jack Black revealed the character he'd love to play in Red Dead Redemption 3, should Rockstar make the game: Jack Black. In lieu of a Red Dead Redemption movie, which Black said he'd very much love to star in if the opportunity ever came his way, the Bowser actor would love to star in Red Dead Redemption 3. And it turns out there's a character called Jack Black he'd love to play.

"Red Dead Redemption 2 takes place around the turn of the century, right?" Black told Polygon while promoting The Super Mario Galaxy Movie. "There was a character around that time named Jack Black, who wrote an autobiography called You Can't Win. I would kinda like to play Jack Black in Red Dead Redemption 3."