GTA 6 to introduce ‘Project ROME’ and it could revolutionise gaming forever

The world of GTA 6 could be bigger and better than anyone imagined if the most recent leak from inside the gaming world is to be believed.

It is all to do with something that is being dubbed 'Project ROME'. And no, it's got nothing to do with the ancient Italian city.

The idea of Grand Theft Auto VI being bigger and better than anything we've seen in, well, forever, is not a huge thing to expect. The time it has taken to perfect the game ahead of its autumn 2025 release means we should expect great things, with Rockstar's track history of spending years on a project seemingly always coming up trumps (we see you and we acknowledge you, Red Dead Redemption 2).

Now, it appears that work is still going on in the background on how to make GTA 6, and the new version of GTA Online that will come with it, fresh and updated at all times.

Reports have come out of the industry from insiders saying that developer Rockstar, which creates the GTA products, has been chatting to some of the top creators playing Fortnite and Roblox.

For those living under a rock or only interested in gaming when it concerns GTA, these are two products that allow user-generated content to be made part of the playable world on the official game.

Will 'Project ROME' be a real thing for GTA 6? (Rockstar)

According to reports at Digiday, what GTA 6 will 'allow creators to modify the game’s environment and assets to bring their own intellectual property — and potentially their brand sponsors — in to GTA’s virtual sandbox'.

For years, Fortnite has allowed what are in effect mods you'd usually find on a PC platform, except they're playable for everyone on console.

You still have to get official sign off at the top level by devs at whatever company is allowing community content to be added, and Rockstar will no doubt keep their bar incredibly high.

But it is expected the quality will match that on many occasions to create what is being called a 'metaverse' through 'Project ROME' - which stands for 'Rockstar Online Modding Engine'.

Lucia is the main protagonist in GTA 6 (Rockstar)

And like Fortnite, there could be the option for map changes and even new locations being added to the playable area, with those regular updates being a part of the landscape.

The popular GTA 6 Countdown account over on X (formerly Twitter), explains it is hoped to 'transform [GTA 6] in to a platform, not just a game, allowing players to create their own experiences'.

Back in 2023, Rockstar acquired FiveM, a popular modding platform that allows changes to the official GTA 5 world.

It'll blow most records when it is finally released (Rockstar)

This was a move seen as Rockstar officially opening the door to modded gaming as part of the wider community of players.

"It is my firm belief that is the reason that they purchased FiveM is exactly that — to spin up a metaversal universe of custom-built experiences, and potentially UGC [user generated content] items, with an attached UGC creator economy,” says Pete Basgen, global gaming and esports lead for WPP agency Wavemaker.

“It will essentially occupy that adult-enumerated space at the top of the ecosystem; there’s a very natural place there for people that graduate from Roblox and Minecraft.”