Grand Theft Auto Marketing – The Waiting Game
To be honest, I’m sure I am not the only one who is a completely different person from what I was when the much-anticipated Rockstar game Grand Theft Auto 5 was released back in 2013. Nearly nine years of frustration and waiting for GTA fans has led them to wonder when on earth they will be treated to the sixth title of the franchise.
Since then, the hugely popular game has been released on three different generations of consoles, the first notable time that this has ever happened for a specific game. It has most recently just been redeveloped for the PS5 and new generation Xbox. The game has surpassed a total of 160 million total sales, proving the game's amazing levels of popularity still even after 9 years.
If you look at the release dates of the other Grand Theft Auto titles, there is usually a two to five-year gap between each release in the franchise, so because it has been now nine years with no trailer at all and only limited murmurings about the game, there is no wonder eyebrows are being raised within the gaming community.
However, GTA is not the only major gaming franchise that they create, as October 2018 saw the release of the highly-anticipated Red Dead Redemption 2 game, which blasted through the gaming charts in sales and became one of the most played games in that period. Gamers had let off Rockstar as they knew this blockbuster game needed years of development, which would halt or at least slow down the progress of the development of GTA 6.
Rockstar could also argue the still insane popularity of the game means that there is less of a rush involved with the new release than others are saying, as the new redevelopment of the game on PS5 has become the best-selling game in the UK in the official charts and sales, pushing competitor Elden Ring off top spot. This displays how ahead of its time GTA 5 was at the time of release, as it still holds its own in popularity and sales nine years on, which will not make Rockstar want to rush, when they, in fairness, have been consistently releasing new DLC content for arguably the most complex online mode of a game that has ever been released. So, there is not a lack of new content, but more so fans think there should be a refresh of the environment and a new release certainly would add that.
The question everyone is asking is, why on earth is it still not out? Is it because to top their work from the last game they have to make groundbreaking moves? Or is it simply a marketing tool to increase discourse around the subject and drive demand? We have certainly seen this tactic used with the new generation of consoles released in late 2020, as in May 2022, the stock levels of both consoles are still low, and it is very common for gamers to have still not yet secured their console of choice.
The discourse has been rife on social media about the new game, from Twitter, Youtube, Discord and more, a constant topic in the gaming community is when the release of the new GTA will be. Countdown accounts and news accounts are releasing any scraps of news they can find, but there is still not that much substance to all the rumours and discussions. However, recently Rockstar broke their silence on their Twitter account with a new update, although nothing substantial, they are just repeating the point that to top their last release, it will take a very long time in development, but they tweeted to make sure fans knew that their voices were being heard.
The main question is, will the release of Grand Theft Auto 6 be as successful as the last one by using Sony and Microsoft’s tactics, or will the waiting game be too much for certain gamers and will other games and franchises take the leap and overtake this gaming giant?
