If rumors are to be believed, the next Grand Theft Auto game, GTA 6, will have a modern setting, which could be a big mistake. The rumors started circulating recently, replacing previous ones that stated that the game would be set sometime in the 1970s or '80s, and their veracity has not been confirmed by developer Rockstar Games. GTA 6 is currently in active development, but a release window has not been announced and is presumably a long time away.
Each Grand Theft Auto game is set in a different time period. The first was roughly around the time of its release, 1997. The second game's setting is never fully stated, with conflicting sources stating that it was 2013 and 1999. GTA 3 was also set around its release date, 2001. GTA: Vice City's story and its remaster's, on the other hand, was set in 1986, making it the first game in the series to venture into the past. GTA: San Andreas was a little later, in 1992, and GTA 4 was set in 2002. Grand Theft Auto 5 is set in 2013, as was GTA Online before the Gunrunning update that brought it into 2017, making it the most modern title in the series. The locations have also varied, but most are based on major real-life cities with different names, such as Los Santos being a counterpart for Los Angeles.
Hopefully, the most recent rumors surrounding GTA 6's time period prove false and players will explore a different era than the modern day. There have been several rumors and leaks concerning everything from the protagonists to the setting, all of which should be taken with a grain of salt. The GTA 6 rumors circulating in 2022 so far have not been verified by any official source, though some come from reliable leakers. Players will have to wait and see for any concrete news, which will hopefully come sooner rather than later.
Why A Modern-Day GTA 6 Map Would Be A Mistake
The main reason why a modern setting could be a mistake for GTA 6 is that it's been used for almost a decade now. GTA 5 and GTA Online's 2013 time period has long since grown stale, and even GTA 4's early-2000s is recent enough to be dull. Online coming into 2017 hasn't done much to rejuvenate it, despite the multitude of new content. They all feel too familiar to be exciting, and the repetitive grinding gameplay doesn't help. Even futuristic vehicles like flying cars in GTA Online, or weapons like the Up'N'Atomizer, have done little to make the games feel more fun or fresh.
GTA 5's rereleases have hurt it and the series as a whole by repeatedly recycling the same content without giving players anything new, and a similar time setting for GTA 6 could exacerbate that. After so long with the only new content coming from GTA Online's expansions, GTA 6 needs its map and locations to be fresh and exciting, and it could be hard to do that when it's still stuck in the same era as the last few titles. A new story and gameplay features can only go so far toward improving on GTA 5; the world and environments matter just as much and also need improvements. A different time period with different clothing, vernacular, and aesthetic could all help GTA 6 break away from GTA 5 and live up to the high expectations surrounding it.
Rockstar's Best Work Has Been Done In Past Grand Theft Auto Games
Another reason why a modern-day map for GTA 6 could be a mistake is that some of Rockstar's best GTA games and protagonists have been from past time periods. Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, for example, is set in the '80s, and it's still regarded as one of the best games in the GTA series. San Andreas is another great game with a past time period, though it's somewhat more recent being in the early '90s. Both of them were full of nostalgia and well represented their respective eras. Neon was almost everywhere in Vice City, and it was a bright and colorful game compared to the dreary GTA 3 that preceded it. San Andreas features an expansive map with plenty of missions and side objectives to do. Both of them boast quality stories, characters, and soundtracks, standing amongst Rockstar's best.
Another Rockstar IP set in a past time period is the Red Dead Redemption series. Their story is quite different from the heists of Grand Theft Auto Online and GTA 5, and they're a quality series of games in their own right. Both RDR and RDR2 carried a more serious tone than the sometimes-ridiculous GTA, and the adventures of John Marston and Arthur Morgan were tear-jerking. Red Dead Redemption 2 has enjoyed massive success since its release, and though Red Dead Online has been largely neglected by Rockstar recently, it still carries a loyal and hopeful fanbase. The Wild West setting has been a big part of its appeal, as players get to do things they can't in most games set in the modern era such as ride horses, as well as use guns that are very different than modern-day ones, and can be customized extensively in RDR2.
What Would Be The Best Time Period For GTA 6?
If it does have a new time period when its fixing GTA 5's vehicle problems.
There's also the potential for GTA 6 to be set in the future. How far is tough to say, as is how it would be different from modern times, but the idea is an exciting one. Futuristic themes have already been used in past games; GTA 2 featured an advanced sci-fi environment, and some of GTA Online's technology is quite unlike anything seen in the modern day. Rockstar could revisit these and use them to provide a Grand Theft Auto game that feels entirely new, and very different from anything the series has done so far.