The prolonged silence from Take-Two Interactive and Rockstar Games regarding the highly anticipated GTA VI has fuelled plenty of speculation amongst fans. Despite multiple reassurances that the open-world crime fantasy will launch later this year, the marketing machine appears to be stagnant. So far, Rockstar has only released a single teaser trailer with minimal information, leaving many concerned. However, there are clear reasons behind this strategy.
Take-Two Interactive’s CEO, Strauss Zelnick, recently discussed this matter during an interview with Wall Street Week via Bloomberg Television. Zelnick addressed several topics, including the lengthy development timeline of GTA VI since GTA V’s release. According to him, there are two primary reasons behind this prolonged silence.
Firstly, the wait builds anticipation among gamers, making the excitement surrounding the game reach new heights. Secondly, Rockstar Games is striving to craft the perfect open-world experience — an ambitious standard that naturally requires significant time to achieve.
“The anticipation for that title may be the greatest anticipation I’ve ever seen for an entertainment property,” Zelnick said. “And I’ve been around the block a few times and I’ve been in every entertainment business there is.
“We want to maintain the anticipation and the excitement. And we do have competitors who will describe their release schedule for years in advance. And we found that the better thing to do is to provide marketing materials relatively close to the release window in order to create that excitement on the one hand and balance the excitement with unmet anticipation. We don’t always get it exactly right, but that’s what we are trying to do.”
Instead of following the industry trend where publishers stretch out their marketing, Rockstar and Take-Two are choosing to hold their cards closer, doling out bits and pieces about GTA VI in a more measured manner. This includes the highly anticipated second trailer, which continues to drive immense curiosity.
Unfortunately, Zelnick did not provide a more precise release window for GTA VI. However, it remains more than likely that the game will launch on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S consoles in 2025.
