Grand Theft Auto V recently became the most profitable commercial product of all time, beating every movie ever made in sales alone. The open-world action game is among the biggest video games ever made, and has smashed records worldwide, including one of the most expensive games ever created at a budget of $265 million. The game has been so successful that it remains highly-populated after almost 5 years since release. The constant drip-feed of free post-launch content has kept the game in a state of continuity. Rockstar Games may be squeezing every last hint of money from players before considering the release of Grand Theft Auto VI. Or, is there a more simple reason?
Recently, the internet has received a flood of rumors of an upcoming Playstation 5 system in the works and getting ready for release. Taking this into account, it’s possible that Sony and Rockstar Games may have a deal to delay the release of Grand Theft Auto VI for the same launch year as the PlayStation 5, however is it that likely? Rockstar Games has shown in the past that it has ties to Sony, shown with the cancelled PlayStation exclusive Agent. However, it’s possible that they are being strategic with the release of Grand Theft Auto VI. Back in 2011, Rockstar Games released the trailer for Grand Theft Auto V, way before the PlayStation 4 was even announced. The game was delayed back to September 2013 – two months before the launch of the PS4.
So, why wasn’t Grand Theft Auto V a launch title? Especially considering that Rockstar Games would have had plenty of time to make the game suitable for PlayStation 4 – dev kits for the PS4 were sent out around the announcement of the game. Or would it be that the game was just too massive and the addition of first person made it all the more harder? Possibly. You could consider that, but also the fact that releasing the game on PS3 and Xbox 360 originally boosted sales on those consoles (no one had a PS4 at that time – it hadn’t released yet). As people were freaking out and buying the game on older-generation consoles, it allowed Rockstar Games to stay one step ahead.
In doing this, Rockstar Games was able to re-release the game for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One systems almost a year later, in 2014. The result of this was a massive boost in sales for the game, as more and more people were moving onto the next-generation of console systems and Grand Theft Auto V was originally only on the older-generations. This not only resulted in a lot of sales for the PS3 and Xbox 360 versions of the game, it then made players re-purchase it just to play an updated version. Selling the game twice.
It’s possible that was the secret to Grand Theft Auto V’s incredible success, and why post-launch content is keeping the game sustainable until we get closer and closer to the launch of the PlayStation 5 – they could possibly be attempting the same thing. It’s no surprise that Grand Theft Auto VI is almost inevitably going to be a PlayStation 5 title, no one will doubt that. The release of Red Dead Redemption 2 being so late into the period of the PS4 and Xbox One almost confirms that Grand Theft Auto VI will almost certainly release on the PS5, if not go the same route as GTA V.
One might argue that Rockstar Games simply weren’t ready for the launch of the PlayStation 4 – which could be true. It might also be true for the PlayStation 5. Dev kits have been rumored to only now be delivered to developers, and considering that the development of Grand Theft Auto VI has almost certainly already started, it wouldn’t be surprising if Rockstar Games did the same tactic of a re-release. They only just unveiled a brand new edition of Grand Theft Auto V, almost 5 years after release.
What are your thoughts? Could GTA 6 release as a launch title for the PS5, or will Rockstar Games try to maximize sales once again. Sales are quite important to a company like Rockstar Games – one analyst predicted that Red Dead Redemption 2 will sell well, if not as much as GTA V.