{"id":676430,"date":"2026-11-06T05:10:09","date_gmt":"2026-11-06T05:10:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/676430\/"},"modified":"2026-11-06T05:10:09","modified_gmt":"2026-11-06T05:10:09","slug":"grand-theft-auto-set-for-blockbuster-return-after-13-years","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/676430\/","title":{"rendered":"‘Grand Theft Auto’ set for blockbuster return after 13 years"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a> ‘It is going to be the biggest entertainment launch of all time,’ said Chris Dring (DIMITAR DILKOFF) <\/p>\n

Fans of the violent “Grand Theft Auto” video game franchise are just two weeks away from getting their hands on the latest edition, which has taken almost a decade to make and has become the most expensive title in history. <\/p>\n

The franchise allows players to act out gangster fantasies — shooting up bars, crashing cars — in fictional renderings of US cities where the soundtrack piped through in-game radio is almost as important as the cutting-edge visuals. <\/p>\n

GTA VI, which comes 13 years after its predecessor, is expected to break sales records when it lands on November 19 thanks in part to a monumental marketing campaign that kicked off in late 2023 with the first official trailer. <\/p>\n

“It is going to be the biggest entertainment launch of all time,” Chris Dring of The Game Business outlet told AFP. <\/p>\n

The previous edition, GTA V, is still the second-biggest selling game ever — it took just three days to rack up $1 billion in sales, two days less than the movie “Avengers: Endgame”. <\/p>\n

The budget of GTA VI has reportedly ballooned to over $1 billion — far higher than any other game or film — and projections have it on track to make several billion in its first week, which would smash all records for any cultural product. <\/p>\n

– ‘Top creators’ – <\/p>\n

‘GTA VI’ has two main protagonists, former drug-runner Jason and newly released ex-con Lucia, who try to survive in Vice City, a reimagining of Miami. <\/p>\n

Lucia is the first playable woman character in a main edition of the almost 30-year history of a franchise. <\/p>\n

During the 1990s and 2000s the game’s graphic depictions of sex, violence and misogyny became notorious — tabloid media outrage boosting the title’s notoriety and helping sales to skyrocket. <\/p>\n

Rockstar Games has spent eight years developing the sixth edition, a process beset by difficulties including the leak of development footage and code for the game online in 2022. <\/p>\n

But expectations are sky-high. <\/p>\n

“They’ve spent a long time on this game, but they are probably the top game entertainment creators in the world,” said Dring. <\/p>\n

Analysts expect the game to have an impact on the entire video game sector, including on console sales and accessories. <\/p>\n

Several other studios delayed the release of new games to avoid being caught in the hype cycle around GTA VI. <\/p>\n

Analysis firm Sensor Tower said the game had already generated around $750 million from pre-sales. <\/p>\n

Surveys suggested almost one-third of the 49 million people who use PS5 and Xbox Series consoles in the United States intended to buy the game. <\/p>\n

“The purchase intent that we’re seeing on ‘Grand Theft Auto’ is far away above any other game we’ve ever tracked,” said Mat Piscatella of consultancy Circana. <\/p>\n

“For me, it’s the game of the decade,” Jocelin Lebeau, 39, a gamer who works for the French military, told AFP at a recent event in Paris. “I’m ready to buy it sight unseen.” <\/p>\n

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