GTA 6 Rumors Debunked: What Rockstar Actually Said

In response to multiple GTA 6 leaks and rumors, Rockstar Games has spoken out. Everything they mentioned and more will be explored in detail. First, there has been talk about how heavy GTA 6 is; supposedly, the delay is because the developers had to rebuild the engine from the ground up. An ex-developer of Grand Theft Auto 5 has said as much.

Rockstar has reportedly redesigned its proprietary Rage Engine, which has powered its open-world games since Grand Theft Auto 4, according to Rob Carr, a former audio engineer at the company. Carr worked on both Grand Theft Auto and L.A. Noire. "I know nothing about GTA 6 other than the fact they probably have, given the time frame of how long it’s taken them to get this ready, they’ve probably rebuilt the entirety of the Rage Engine," he continued in an interview on YouTube.

That was the only thing he could say with true certainty.

Carr stated that people would be surprised if they didn't, because technology has come a long way since GTA 5, which, let's face it, was three generations ago. When several reporters contacted them, they received conflicting information from a single person familiar with Rockstar Games. While they didn't say Carr was lying, they did say that Rockstar likes combining technologies and that the Rage in GTA 6 is based on code from Red Dead Redemption 2 and GTA 5.

Not unexpectedly, given that previous Rockstar Games games have shared code and engine tech between studios and projects, Carr appears to concur with a suggestion in another section of the interview that GTA 6 will incorporate certain elements from Red Dead Redemption 2.

People assume that Rockstar is trying to signal that the engine is still in development and receiving regular updates, and that it is incorporating the best parts of GTA 5, even though those parts are likely quite old and haven't had to be scrapped entirely. While GTA 4 and Red Dead Redemption may contribute certain features, Red Dead Redemption 2 is likely to provide the bulk of the content.

So, ever since GTA 6 came out, people have been wishing for a version of Red Dead Redemption 2 for the current generation of systems, like the PS5 and Xbox Series X and S. It would be the closest thing to what we'll get until then, in terms of how close the game will feel. The game's features will likely mirror those of GTA 6, if not more so.

Many have speculated that GTA 6 may incorporate elements from Red Dead Redemption 2, but in a more contemporary setting.

This is because Red Dead Redemption 2 takes place in the Wild West between 1899 and 1907, while GTA 6 will naturally take place in the present day. Consequently, while there may be some variances, the shared code and engine technology will be extremely comparable. It's something we'll discuss further in the future, namely, how events in previous games serve as a foundation for events in upcoming titles like GTA 6.

Based on what Rockstar is saying, it's not entirely accurate to frame this as a complete rebuild, even if the Rage engine has likely been upgraded, adjusted, and expanded. Is the patch for Rage taking so long that GTA 6 hasn't been released yet? Perhaps there are a lot of moving parts, and the games are complex. Again, we are crossing our fingers that this won't lead to any more postponements and that November of this year remains the release window for the game.

Now it appears that Rockstar Games has also addressed one of the more outlandish claims about GTA 6: that the game's loading and saving systems are broken. People agree with that. Something that has always been possible in Rockstar Games' games. Remember to save your progress so you won't lose it. When you start playing again, you can easily load it up.

A long-running UK rumor magazine broke the news of this fresh rumor. They insisted that the game's massive size and the need for a complete engine overhaul were not to blame for the delay. Not at all. The reason is that the individual responsible for the game's save and load functionality was let go. And now that crucial feature is totally malfunctioning.

They went on to say that early GTA 6 builds didn't have saving and loading in mind, and that the game was built in such a way that adding them now would be a huge undertaking that requires a lot of technical expertise. The veracity of this rumor is plainly denied. It has been shared online a lot, so you can laugh at it. Therefore, you should know that news about GTA 6 is totally untrue.

You need not be concerned about that. It is well known that some games allow players to choose among different difficulties, or that specific sections of the single-player campaign lack save and load capabilities, thereby turning the game into a survival mode. However, GTA 6 will change all of that. Like in Red Dead Redemption 2, GTA 5, etc., you will obviously be able to save and load the game.

Rockstar insiders have shot down this idea, saying the game will have standard save and load features.

That has to be among the most baseless rumors ever. How that got to spread like wildfire is a mystery. As long as people continue to discuss rumors, leaks, and other nonsense, Rockstar keeps commenting on them, and that needs to stop. The marketing for GTA 6 is expected to start this summer, according to Take-Two Interactive CEO Strauss Zelnick.

In the meantime, Rockstar Games is reportedly working to confirm or refute rumors and leaks. Since Microsoft revealed on April 2 that GTA 5 would be removed from Xbox Game Pass this month, it was only a matter of days before it happened. The formal date of its departure from service is April 15th, in reality.

The GTA 5 removal from Game Pass is not an isolated incident, though. Actually, it was taken down in January 2024 and put back in April 2025, among other occasions. You all know that GTA 6 launches in November, but Rockstar's marketing for the game starts this summer, so something about the timing is off.

Along with pre-orders, the third trailer, or something else entirely, is anticipated in the near future. Therefore, players feel that Rockstar's intention to remove GTA 5 from Game Pass in mid-April, right before GTA 6's marketing begins, is a smart move that will serve several reasons, according to Rockstar.

First things first: GTA 5 is no longer free; if you want to play it, you have to buy it. Additionally, it sets the stage for GTA 6's release in a couple of months, which Rockstar likely doesn't want potential customers to do because some of that audience won't want to travel to Vice City in the state of Leonida if they can play the previous game for free.

Even though it's likely only a small fraction of the population, gamers would nonetheless be upset if they were told they had to pay to play the upcoming GTA. Plus, the original GTA games are still priced at a premium. Take 2 Interactive and Rockstar Games both come out ahead in the end. In any case, there are still a few more days to use Xbox Game Pass to play GTA. It departs on April 15th, which is seven months before GTA 6 premieres, and the timing seems a bit off.