Rockstar's GTA VI poised to become the biggest gaming release of all time

[Alfonso Maruccia]

Highly anticipated: Grand Theft Auto VI is easily the most anticipated game in modern entertainment, with nearly a decade of buildup since its predecessor revolutionized open-world gaming and generated billions in revenue. The game has become a focal point for industry speculation, investor interest, and fan excitement. Now, one analyst is projecting unprecedented sales, suggesting that GTA VI could be more than just a blockbuster – it may redefine what's possible in gaming economics and global cultural influence.

Analysts have little doubt that Grand Theft Auto VI will be a massive release across all supported platforms. Josh Chapman, Managing Director at venture capital firm Konvoy, says that Rockstar's upcoming sequel in the hit franchise is much more than just another big AAA title.

He calls it "unprecedented" – a game that will redefine records and financial performance for the entire gaming industry. Chapman predicts that Grand Theft Auto VI will generate $7.6 billion in revenue within its first two months, making it the biggest video game release ever.

He expects Rockstar's parent company, Take-Two Interactive, to break even within 30 days, recouping its estimated $2 billion investment. These projections are astoundingly optimistic, especially considering Fortnite – Newzoo's current top-grossing game by year – brought in $3.5 billion in 2023 and peaked at $5.4 billion in 2018.

Chapman believes the latest chapter in the GTA saga will shatter many records, including selling 85 million copies within 60 days. His estimates also assume an $80 price tag for the standard edition, though this figure is purely speculative and based on unconfirmed rumors. Rockstar has yet to announce any price above its recently established $70 going rate for AAA games, so take Chapman's projections with a healthy dose of salt.

While honest, Chapman's predictions seem to feed off the hype surrounding the release. Konvoy focuses on investments at the "frontier of gaming," and the firm expects GTA VI to deliver a novel, massively successful user-generated content (UGC) platform for online play.

The game's unprecedented UGC service will offer creator payouts for server hosts, integrated modding support, and more. Grand Theft Auto VI's creator economy will mirror successful platforms like Fortnite and Roblox. It will also feature 200-player lobbies with higher risk/reward dynamics, and players will have easier access to stealing in-game items.

A blockbuster release like GTA VI is sure to emphasize user-generated content and online play, especially after GTA V sold 210 million copies since 2013. The Grand Theft Auto Online platform remains widely popular twelve years after the original release, and Rockstar continues to release new content regularly.

It undoubtedly aims to turn the upcoming game into another massive, money-printing machine that fans of digital crime and free-roaming, bombastic action will keep playing for years.

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Rockstar's GTA VI poised to become the biggest gaming release of all time

 

[NumberNine]

When it comes to Rockstar, the bigger they are, the uglier the launch so temper your expectations.

 

[Kirby1]

Two month seems unlikely without a PC release.

 

[toooooot]

I am curious to see if the mind virus can affect gta6. I mean, after seeing so many studios ruined, having seen such parodies on games like DA Veilguard, it is hard to believe that Rockstar can stay true to itself.
It is a curiosity mixed with sadness and hope.
If you are into technical aspects of games, you marvel at how this studio makes their games. But making a technically excellent game is not enough for success. Many know from a troubled history of TLOU2 how an amazingly beautiful game loses loyal fans when the story and writing related elements are not up the quality of technical aspects. I am sure gta6 will be just as good from the technical standpoint as gta5. But it would be a tragedy if they can't match it with a good story lacking ideology that literally wiped once great studios.

 

[Eldrach]

Personally, I think this game will be awesome.

I'll probably play 2-300 hours of it, just like I did with GTA V

What is unfortunate, is that rockstar will most likely just abandon the story like they did in GTA V and start milking kids for money in GTA VI online.

Will still be worth it though, they make great single player games.

 

[Theinsanegamer]

I am curious to see if the mind virus can affect gta6. I mean, after seeing so many studios ruined, having seen such parodies on games like DA Veilguard, it is hard to believe that Rockstar can stay true to itself.
It is a curiosity mixed with sadness and hope.
If you are into technical aspects of games, you marvel at how this studio makes their games. But making a technically excellent game is not enough for success. Many know from a troubled history of TLOU2 how an amazingly beautiful game loses loyal fans when the story and writing related elements are not up the quality of technical aspects. I am sure gta6 will be just as good from the technical standpoint as gta5. But it would be a tragedy if they can't match it with a good story lacking ideology that literally wiped once great studios.

Rockstar already said they'd be toning down the language to avoid offending people, so I fully expect GTA 6 to be a major step down in storytelling quality, just like 5 was a major downgrade from 4.

And we know there will be no story DLC either, because multiplayer is so lucrative.

I think imma go replay 4 again.

 

[m4a4]

I am curious to see if the mind virus can affect gta6. I mean, after seeing so many studios ruined, having seen such parodies on games like DA Veilguard, it is hard to believe that Rockstar can stay true to itself.
It is a curiosity mixed with sadness and hope.
If you are into technical aspects of games, you marvel at how this studio makes their games. But making a technically excellent game is not enough for success. Many know from a troubled history of TLOU2 how an amazingly beautiful game loses loyal fans when the story and writing related elements are not up the quality of technical aspects. I am sure gta6 will be just as good from the technical standpoint as gta5. But it would be a tragedy if they can't match it with a good story lacking ideology that literally wiped once great studios.

Honestly, I'd bet against them. We know they course corrected a bit after that trailer fiasco, but I don't think it'll make up for how long they've had to "follow the trend".

For whatever reason, the people in charge of these big studios think that alienating the majority of their fanbase will make them money from the loud minority they listen to. And I haven't seen anything suggest that they've stayed true to themselves completely.

I'd love to be wrong, but they're also in a weird situation where AAA slop has recently flopped (having gamers be more on edge), along with a weak economic situation (where gamers will be picky with opening their wallets). It would have to be a better launch from them.

 

[AlexIL]

It will be a flop.

Hype train as usual.

 

[RudyBob]

I am curious to see if the mind virus can affect gta6. I mean, after seeing so many studios ruined, having seen such parodies on games like DA Veilguard, it is hard to believe that Rockstar can stay true to itself.
It is a curiosity mixed with sadness and hope.
If you are into technical aspects of games, you marvel at how this studio makes their games. But making a technically excellent game is not enough for success. Many know from a troubled history of TLOU2 how an amazingly beautiful game loses loyal fans when the story and writing related elements are not up the quality of technical aspects. I am sure gta6 will be just as good from the technical standpoint as gta5. But it would be a tragedy if they can't match it with a good story lacking ideology that literally wiped once great studios.

As long as they are not Disneyed they should be OK. But I agree with you completely

 

[RudyBob]

Personally, I think this game will be awesome.

I'll probably play 2-300 hours of it, just like I did with GTA V

What is unfortunate, is that rockstar will most likely just abandon the story like they did in GTA V and start milking kids for money in GTA VI online.

Will still be worth it though, they make great single player games.

Nobody is getting milked online. They are milking themselves.

 

[Theinsanegamer]

It will be a flop.

Hype train as usual.

I doubt that.

I have no doubt the game will easily sell over 50 million copies without issue, even if it is a gigantic stinker that coats you in rainbows and acid upon booting. GTA V has sold over 215 million copies.

 

[GodisanAtheist]

None of that money will be coming from me!

It's funny, there are a lot of really great "GTA-Like" games out there (Like Sleeping Dogs) but the GTA series itself has never really appealed to me. It feels too "grounded" in reality (I use that term loosely) when I really trying to play games to have a more escapist vibe to them.

 

[Eldrach]

Nobody is getting milked online. They are milking themselves.

Well, true - and that is indeed quite sad, but my point was more that instead of splitting their team to make both a single player expansion and online content, they will move fully over to online content after some rounds of bugfixes.

On a side note, if you read your comment entirely out of context - it's a pretty funny comment

 

[Theinsanegamer]

None of that money will be coming from me!

It's funny, there are a lot of really great "GTA-Like" games out there (Like Sleeping Dogs) but the GTA series itself has never really appealed to me. It feels too "grounded" in reality (I use that term loosely) when I really trying to play games to have a more escapist vibe to them.

One thing I really noticed with GTA V is that there was a big open world but there was shockingly little to do in it outside of story missions. Sure, you could rob stores, but all the other activities like running the drug labs or building a criminal empire was locked behind GTA online.

I always felt like this was a major missed opportunity.

The other thing was the utter ineffectiveness of the stealth mechanic. In scripted missions it works great, you get out of sight, hide in a bush or a different car, and the 5-0 will not be able to locate you. But outside of missions, the moment their cone of vision goes over your hiding spot you are discovered. Even if the game thinks you are hidden. Makes shaking the cops very frustrating, especially when they seem to be able to focus on your location even if they dont have an eye on you and the wanted level is in cooldown.

 

[Burty117]

As someone who played GTA III, Vice City, San Andrea’s and 4. I found 5 to be fairly underwhelming.

All these years have passed, I remember buying it on PS3, I think I got a third of the way through the story.

Then I bought it on PC many years later thinking I could finally complete it or try out the multiplayer.

Nope, didn’t even get as far as I did on PS3, and the multiplayer is a complete sh*t show, how anyone finds that fun, I have no idea.

This will be the first GTA since the PS2 era that I simply won’t be picking up at launch, unless I see some gameplay and it actually looks to be of any decent quality, probably the first GTA in the entire series I don’t plan on owning.

 

[Megalomaniac]

I definitely will need to have my monster build ready so I can make streaming videos of the gameplay immediately. My Cyberpunk 2077 streams made a lot of money.

 

[Watzupken]

Looking at all the highly anticipated AAA game launch in recent years from big developers, I would strongly suggest to taper expectations. As usual, we see a lot of sensational writing to hype up such game launches, only to pay for a buggy and broken game at launch. It’s the underdogs like Expedition 33 that we normally see great success.

 

[Jarenien]

The GTA6 Online version maybe, but not the game itself. Most, myself included, will be waiting for PC release in 12-18 months after release.