Grand Theft Auto VI: How Rockstar created the biggest video game release of all time

As GTA VI prepares to break records, its success reflects a sprawling world shaped by literature, cinema, satire and everyday detail

A scene from Grand Theft Auto VI, due out in November, 2026

In the noughties, when the Grand Theft Auto developer Rockstar Games revealed a new project, video game writers from all over the UK would make the journey to the company’s office in London. 

They would be ushered one by one into a darkened room to sit facing an enormous TV. There would be a dish of sweets on a low bench in front of them but, in the reverential hush that descended, it was never entirely clear if it was acceptable to eat them.