Take-Two Interactive may have signaled this week that the elusive Grand Theft Auto VI will be released by early 2024Driving the news: Stock analysts are getting that from Take-Two executives’ assertion Monday that the company’s compound annual growth rate through 2024 will be 14%.
Take-Two stated that as part of its promotion of its planned Zynga deal.
"There are only a handful of titles that can ... provide management with the confidence to put out such a strong guidance; we believe there is at least one Rockstar IP set to be released by FY24," an analyst from Jefferies noted.
Cowen’s Doug Creutz translated the numbers, which anticipate some $9 billion in bookings (read: gaming-related transactions), into “a likely GTA 6 launch in FY24.”
That FY24 stretches from April 1, 2023, through March 31, 2024.
Between the lines: Take-Two has previously hinted at the release of Rockstar’s blockbusters by announcing increased revenue expectations for specific timeframes.
Take-Two tipped a 2012 or early 2013 release window for GTA V back in 2011 through its newly announced financial targets, then signaled a delay when it lowered them, Creutz told Axios. The game shipped in late 2013.
“So yeah, there absolutely is precedent for putting a Rockstar game into #s before it’s officially dated (and then getting it wrong),” he said.
The big picture: Fans (and some Take-Two shareholders) have been eager for GTA VI for years.
The series’ influential
PlayStation 2-era hits GTA III, GTA Vice: City and GTA San Andreas were released from 2001-04.
GTA IV came out in 2008, and GTA V was released in 2013, both for PS3,
Xbox 360 and PC.
Rockstar released no new GTA in the last console generation, focusing on expanding V’s Online mode with heaps of multiplayer expansions.
What’s next: Rockstar’s next big release is a GTA V remaster for
Xbox Series and PS5 consoles this March.
Take any Rockstar release timeframe in proper context. The studio’s games tend to get delayed a bit, even after they’re announced.