GTA 6: Exceeds expectations, reaches new heights of realism

A former Rockstar Games designer has answered questions about GTA 6 and how he thinks fans will react when the much-awaited installment in the Grand Theft Auto series releases next year.

GTA 6 Ex-Dev Says Rockstar Games Will Blow People AwayRockstar Games “Raises The Bar Again” with GTA 6

In an interview with YouTube channel GTAVIoclock, former Rockstar Games developer Ben Hinchliffe has given fans a glimpse into what they can expect in the much-awaited next installment in the Grand Theft Auto series, GTA 6. Hinchliffe, before leaving the company, contributed to several Rockstar titles including GTA 6, as well as celebrated fan-favorites like GTA 5, Red Dead Redemption 2, and L.A. Noire.

Commenting on how GTA 6 was shaping up to be, Hinchcliffe told GTAVIoclock that he was "privy to a lot of new things, content and story and stuff," adding that he loved knowing "how that’s evolved" further noting his confidence in how the game has come out "on the other end," so far." "I think seeing where it was when I left and playing that final version and how much, if anything, has changed. How much things have changed," he said.

Last year, Rockstar Games released the official trailer of GTA 6 that revealed its new protagonists, setting in Vice City, and glimpses into its plotline that's set to take players on a crime-ridden adventure. GTA 6 is slated to release in Fall of 2025 exclusively for the PS5 and the Xbox Series X|S, and info on the game has only slowly trickled down. While Rockstar keeps things hush-hush as is, Hinchliffe did say that GTA 6 raises the bar and is a milestone evolution for Rockstar Games.

"You only have to look at how every game Rockstar has done has evolved in some way," he offered. "You could argue that every element of the game moves forward in terms of feeling more realistic and people acting and behaving more realistic as every game is iterated through each cycle. I think [Rockstar Games] has raised the bar again just like they always do."

In relation to Hinchcliffe's comments on Rockstar's output around the time he left the company three years ago, GTA 6 has presumably received a lot of fine-tuning and performance benchmarking by now to ensure that the game works. Additionally, according to Hinchcliffe, Rockstar at the moment could likely be focused on fixing bugs and issues that may arise during GTA 6's current development cycle.

Commenting on how he thinks fans will react when GTA 6 releases, Hinchcliffe said that the realism in the game will blow them away. "It will blow people away. It will sell an absolute ton as it always does." He added, "People have been taking about it for ages after GTA 5 and I’m really excited for people to get their hands on it and play it."