Comments made by a co-founder of Rockstar Games regarding the impact Donald Trump could have on Grand Theft Auto 6’s release have resurfaced online.
The long-awaited sixth instalment of the Grand Theft Auto series is on the horizon, with players across the globe begging for a set-in-stone release date.
The forthcoming game will see fans returning to the iconic setting of the first GTA, Vice City, where they will have the opportunity to explore surrounding areas in the sunshine state of Leonida—inspired by the state of Florida—and become acquainted with a new female lead named Lucia.
To say the hype is real is an understatement. But now, fans are worried that Donald Trump, 78, being called as the president-elect on Wednesday (November 6) may have implications for the game’s promised 2025 delivery date.
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Trump is set to return to the White House after winning the 2024 US election, and will resume duties as president of the United States in January 2025, just months ahead of GTA VI’s expected release.
Concerns over GTA have come after a 2018 interview with Rockstar Games co-founder Dan Houser resurfaced.
Speaking to GQ, the 51-year-old admitted he was ‘thankful’ his company wasn’t going to release Grand Theft Auto 6 during a Trump presidency.
“It’s really unclear what we would even do with it, let alone how upset people would get with whatever we did,” he told the publication at the time. "Both intense liberal progression and intense conservatism are both very militant, and very angry.
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“It is scary but it’s also strange, and yet both of them seem occasionally to veer towards the absurd.”
Houser - who resigned from Rockstar Games in March 2020 - went on to say that he found it ‘hard to satirise’ for those reasons.
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“Some of the stuff you see is straightforwardly beyond satire. It would be out of date within two minutes, everything is changing so fast.”
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Houser’s statement, coupled with previous claims that gamers may be disappointed when GTA VI eventually does release, has caused fans to take to social media to have their say.
“Looks like it’ll be shaping up for a 2029 launch. Well… at least they’ll have plenty of time to polish the game,” typed one user of X, formerly known as Twitter.
A second commented: “I think Rockstar has planned for the possibility of Trump return, so there is no fear in terms of approving the game's release and its legal safety.”
And another prophesied: “I think we are safe Sam Houser is in charge of Rockstar now. We will still get the game in Fall 2025 unless Rockstar games itself says otherwise.”
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“I honestly don't think they delay GTA6 any longer we waited too long and by now the game is over,” echoed someone else. “Rockstar won't change his plans.”
While an exact release date for GTA VI has yet to be set, the game’s official trailer claimed it would be available to play at some point in 2025.
As per a Take-Two financial report shared in May, it was eventually narrowed down to a fall release, meaning fans could commence cruising around Leonida anytime between September and December 2025.
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However, a former Rockstar Games employee claimed the highly-anticipated game could be delayed way past this date.
“The decision to delay GTA IV was made 4 months or so before the original release date," said Obbe Vermeij, ex-technical director for the company. “Any further and it's hard to make the call. [Rockstar] is probably not in a position to determine whether they will hit 2025 until May-ish [of next year]. Also: GTA VI will sell for 10+ years and there is no competition to worry about.
"They are not going to release the game until they're 100% happy with it. No matter what it said in the trailer."
Vermeij added that his word is not informed by anyone at the company and that he has ‘no inside information
"I have no inside info," Vermeij importantly noted. "Didn't talk to anyone."
Topics: Grand Theft Auto, Rockstar Games, Gaming, Donald Trump, Republicans, US News
Ella Scott