A Bloomberg feature on the development of Grand Theft Auto VI, published October 14 and reported on the same day by WCCFtech and VGC, carries the bluntest explanation yet from Rockstar for why the game missed its earlier release windows. Phil Hooker, one of Rockstar's heads of development, told Bloomberg: 'I think when it became apparent that some areas weren't going to make it, that's when we decided to make the shift of date.' He was equally plain on why the studio did not push anyway: 'We could hit that schedule, but it won't be the game we want to make.'
Both Hooker and Rockstar North co-studio head Aaron Garbut addressed what comes after GTA 6. Hooker said the groundwork built for this project should carry forward: 'The engine, the tools and the team we've built during this project will allow us to do things more quickly.' Garbut told Bloomberg the foundation is now fixed: 'We foundationally changed a lot of stuff on this project. But now it's done, and we're not going to rip it apart.' VGC noted that neither named a specific next project, leaving a new Red Dead Redemption or something else as open possibilities.
Bloomberg also reports that Rockstar opened a new Los Angeles studio focused only on NPCs. Hooker described what that level of simulation looks like through one of his own play sessions: on his way to a story mission, he bumped another car, and the chain of events that followed (a fight, a convenience store robbery, a police chase, a stolen car, a fence) kept him busy for two hours before he got anywhere near the mission. GTA 6 launches November 19 on PS5 and Xbox Series X and S.