Updated 5/27/2020 @ 11:23AM PST
A Take-Two representative has refuted speculation relating a future marketing budget to a potential GTA VI release. According to Venture Beat, whom the publisher contacted, "this marketing-obligation metric refers only to its contracts with third parties. It does not reflect its marketing budget for internal studios like Rockstar Games."
Original Story
If you had been hoping to see a sequel to 2013's Grand Theft Auto V anytime soon, I've got some bad news for you. Or rather, some bean counters that make a living on educated guesses have some bad news for you: Basically, don't count on it.
Okay, so it isn't exactly news that there's no GTA sequel on the horizon, because it hasn't been announced in any way, shape, or form. However, Venture Beat has the scoop on one particular investment firm that seems to think that Rockstar's parent company, Take-Two Interactive, is planning for a GTA-sized push sometime in 2023.
While purely speculative, the idea that Take-Two has its sights set on a 2023 release is evidenced by a proposed budget that allocates a whopping $89 million dollars for that year's marketing budget. It should also be noted that this number is significantly higher than the years preceding and following.
“We are not sure how much we should be reading into this shift, but we would note that this disclosure accurately predicted the launch of Red Dead Redemption 2 prior to that game’s announcement,” writes Jeff Cohen, a representative of the investment firm Stephens.
It doesn't take an expert to connect the dots from there, as an increased marketing budget likely means that the company is planning for a big release for that year. With that in mind, what could be bigger than a new Grand Theft Auto game?
In any case, hopefully the world doesn't end before we can get our hands on it.