„Grand Theft Auto VI“: Ein gewaltiges Videospiel - Der lange Weg zu GTA 6

It has been 13 years since the release of the video game "Grand Theft Auto VI" (GTA 6), a long wait that began for its developer studio, Rockstar, with relocations, leaks, and layoffs before culminating in record pre-orders. The predecessor, GTA 5, generated over $1 billion within three days of its September 17, 2013 launch, becoming one of the best-selling games of all time with more than 200 million sales. According to parent company Take-Two, no entertainment product had been more successful before it.

In 2018, the studio first released a different game, "Red Dead Redemption 2," instead of a new GTA. Shortly before its launch, Rockstar's co-founder Dan Houser spoke about 100-hour workweeks and sparked a debate about excessive working hours and overtime in the gaming industry. In early February 2020, Houser left the company, taking with him the key author behind GTA and Red Dead games.

The studio remained silent on an official new GTA release for the next two years. On February 4, 2022, Rockstar confirmed the development of the next "Grand Theft Auto" was underway, but initial details were scarce. Several months later, a hacker attack revealed around 90 early versions of the game's main characters and environments.

The culprit was a British teenager from the group "Lapsus$," who used an Amazon Fire-TV Stick, a smartphone, and a TV in a hotel to carry out the leak. The leak and its consequences cost Rockstar around $5 million.

In 2023, the first trailer for GTA 6 leaked, with over 93 million views in YouTube in 24 hours, making it a record for non-music videos. The trailer showcased the fictional environment of Leonida, a faked Florida. The trailer also revealed that for the first time, a female protagonist would be playable, named Lucia. The trailer ended with "Coming 2025."

In May 2025, Rockstar postponed the game's release from May 2025 to May 2026, and finally to November 19, 2026. The studio aimed to add the polish fans expected from the game. Between these delays, a second trailer was released, which was viewed 475 million times in 24 hours across platforms.

In June 2026, pre-orders began: 79.99 Euros for the Standard Edition, and 99.99 Euros for the Ultimate Edition. The Standard Edition, available exclusively for PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S without a disc at launch, came with a double-sided poster and a code on a piece of paper, sparking discussions among fans about physical media.

In the summer of 2026, the first pre-orders started, and by November 3, Rockstar announced the details for pre-downloading the game, which began on November 10 on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S. Sony and Microsoft reported that GTA 6 was the most pre-ordered game in the history of their stores. By November 5, Sensor Tower predicted sales of over one billion US dollars for the game.

Vodafone, 1&1, and Deutsche Telekom experienced a significant surge in data traffic just before the game's release. Rockstar also promoted the campaign in the real world, unveiling its launch gallery and new promotional materials on the official GTA 6 website. In Miami, the city that inspired Vice City, the campaign culminated in a pre-release basketball game between the Miami Heat and the Milwaukee Bucks, with the team sporting Vice City-themed uniforms and a hall presentation.

Sensor Tower estimates that the game sold more than ten million copies by November 11, generating a billion US dollars in revenue. On November 19, after record sales, multiple re-releases, a historic leak, two delays, and years of speculation, the wait finally ended. The legal dispute between the developer studio and a British union over layoffs remains unresolved, landing in a Glasgow labor court in the fall of 2026.

Rockstar had fired 34 employees, which the union alleged was due to the members' union membership. Rockstar claimed the employees had leaked confidential information.