Grand Theft Auto 6 launches worldwide on Thursday bringing Rockstar Games’ long-awaited sequel to PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S after a 13-year wait, two delays, and several high-profile leaks, according to The Mac Observer.
Even the people who helped bring the original game to life are not receiving special treatment from Rockstar Games, which has kept its biggest release tightly under wraps.
We’re all waiting to see what they’ve done.
Dave Jones, GTA’s co-creator
Jones sat alongside the original game’s writer and publicist, Brian Baglow.
Baglow confirmed that he had also secured his copy ahead of release.
9 days left until the GTA 6 pre-loading officially begins. 16 days left until launch ⏳ pic.twitter.com/lM0xJOl4Ro
“I’ve got the pre-order,” Baglow said. Baglow said that watching the rest of the world fall in love with the game over the last 29 years has been joyful, adding that it means so much to so many people.
The upcoming title features brand new protagonists Jason and Lucia, with Lucia serving as the first playable female character in any of the 3D games in the series.
Both PlayStation and Xbox have announced that Grand Theft Auto 6 has become the most pre-ordered title in their digital stores’ history. Across the franchise, about 480 million copies of GTA have sold worldwide, with an estimated 10.3 million pre-orders recorded ahead of next week’s release. Pre-loading for the game officially began on November 10, according to Rockstar.
The standard edition is priced at $79.99 and the Ultimate Edition costs $99.99 in the United States, according to Take-Two Interactive’s earnings report. Rockstar North, the company behind the title and owned by Rockstar Games, has a team responsible for releasing the game to global audiences.
Tommy Vercetti’s meteoric rise through Vice City’s criminal underworld previously led him to own several businesses, including the Cherry Popper Ice Cream Factory. The series has also featured notable musical contributions from Scottish acts, such as Primal Scream’s anthem “Moving on Up” in Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas.
Following its success with the puzzle game Lemmings, the studio toyed around with the idea of making a racing game initially called Race’n’Chase.
Part of the unique spin the creators put on the premise came down to a feature gamers take for granted today: just getting out of the car. Jones said that there is nothing players have to learn about it as long as they know a city and driving.
“At DMA, we always wanted to do something different,” Jones said.
The series eventually evolved into a cultural reference point referenced outside gaming, with Jones saying he had seen movies featuring lines like “don't go all GTA on me.”
Earlier coverage: Grand Theft Auto VI Preorders Hit $1.1 Billion Ahead of November 19 Release
