Grand Theft Auto continues to prove a smash hit on PS4 and Xbox One, with no news regarding the GTA 6 release date in sight. But while gamers continue to wait for that big update from Rockstar Games, other interesting things are being noted from parent company, Take-Two Interactive. For now, many analysts are backing the next Grand Theft Auto game to have a release date set during late 2021, at the earliest.
And while that doesn’t bode well for PS4 and Xbox One gamers hoping to play GTA 6 without having to upgrade their current hardware, it doesn’t completely rule out the possibility of a cross-gen title.
And if Rockstar Games are putting together something like that, they’re probably going to need a very big team.
Analysts and fans have been tracking interesting positions opening up at Rockstar Games, although it’s hard to tell if they could be tied to Grand Theft Auto.
But something that is being tracked is the growing number of job listings being advertised at Take-Two Interactive.
According to ThinkNum, Take-Two is up on hiring 108% since August 2019, revealing a gradual rise.
This information can’t be tied directly to Rockstar Games or any of its studios, with Take-Two boasting an extensive portfolio of developers and franchises.
But without a major AAA currently expected from Take-Two in 2020, these extra people have to be going somewhere.
“With so many studios under its belt, it’s hard to track every single opening globally,” the report from ThinkNum explains.
“2K has its sports games, Gearbox has the Borderlands franchise, and Firaxis has XCOM. There’s a new Bioshock in development, and of course, it’ll be years until we hear about the new Rockstar game in development.
“Thinknum tracks companies using the information they post online – jobs, social and web traffic, product sales and app ratings – and creates data sets that measure factors like hiring, revenue and foot traffic. Data sets may not be fully comprehensive (they only account for what is available on the web), but they can be used to gauge performance factors like staffing and sales.”
Development teams are known to start ramping up staff numbers when getting closer to a big launch and can only be seen as a positive sign for a company.
Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick recently commented on the new games being worked on at the company’s different studios.
“Take-Two’s development pipeline over the coming years is the largest and most diverse in our history, including releases from our largest franchises, new IP and a broad mix of gameplay experiences, all designed to captivate and engage audiences well beyond initial release,” he told investors in February.
“In addition, we are actively investing in emerging markets, platforms and business models that have the potential to enhance growth.
“Take-Two is exceedingly well-positioned to capitalize on the many positive trends in our industry and to generate growth and margin expansion over the long-term.”
While it’s positive to see a company slowly building its workforce, there has been other news this week that has been connected to GTA 6.
This includes Rockstar Games updating its website to include new art and logo for the Rockstar Games studio.
The two images appear to be celebratory in nature, one including a robot with some champagne, another appearing a little more cryptic in nature.
The second includes references to 1998, the year in which Rockstar Games was founded, although some fans believe it could mean something else.
For now, there doesn’t appear to be anything obvious pointing to a GTA 6 announcement for PS4 and Xbox One.
But even if these latest images aren’t clues regarding GTA 6, that doesn’t mean Rockstar Games couldn’t start dropping news about its next project in the coming months.