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Grand Theft Auto 6 Is 'In Early Development', According To Report

Grand Theft Auto 6 Is 'In Early Development', According To Report

According to a new report from Kokatu, the sixth game in the series is still in early development

Jess Hardiman

Jess Hardiman

Grand Theft Auto 6 is in 'early development', according a new report from Kokatu.

The gaming website outlined various changes that are currently taking place over at Rockstar, referencing an email sent out to Rockstar staff by top executive Jennifer Kolbe, who discussed ways in which they could improve the company's working culture, along with plans for 2020.

While Rockstar declined to provide an interview or comment to Kokatu, the news outlet did manage to speak to several people who are either current employees or left within the last year.

According to Kokatu, one plan that management has laid out for the next game - yep, that's the new entry in the GTA series - is to 'start out with a moderately sized release [...] that is then expanded with regular updates over time, which may help mitigate stress and crunch'.

The only catch, Kokatu claims, is that said next big project is 'still early in development' - prompting questions of whether staff may have to ramp up their workload as the game's launch draws closer.

While the fact the project is in the pipeline is undoubtedly good news, some fans were left frustrated that seven years on from GTA V, its sequel is still in the early stages of development:


One developer told Kokatu: "The changes have been good enough for me to stay and give them a chance, but let's see what happens down the road when the pressures of delivering a final product become reality."

In Kolbe's email, she reportedly laid down bullet-pointed initiatives to improve Rockstar's culture, following criticism surrounding workplace issues including overtime policies.

According to Kokatu, Kolbe wrote: "In these last several months we have undertaken a lot of work across every area of the company, looking at our processes to determine what works and what doesn't, what we are great at and what we could improve.

"We hope that the majority of you have felt some of these positive changes already and those that haven't soon will."

Rockstar

Kolbe also promised several plans for the coming year, including flexible schedules for developers at Rockstar's studios, management and leadership training, surveys to collect employee feedback, regular updates from the company and improved communication.

Kolbe's email continued: "We have taken conscious steps to improve our approach to developing games in order to reduce the need for overtime.

"We realise we still have plenty to do in this area and will continue to take steps so we can more accurately predict and schedule games and DLC in a way that is more sustainable but still allows us the creative flexibility to iterate on the incredibly ambitious and complex games we make."

LADbible has contacted Rockstar for comment.

Featured Image Credit: Rockstar

Topics: Technology, Grand Theft Auto