'GTA 6' News & Updates: Could Introduce Female Protagonist, New Location

GTA 6 is still a long way off with some gaming insiders even expecting the title to arrive in 4 years. However, that's not stopping gamers from talking about the exciting changes the upcoming game could bring into the franchise.

Female Protagonist

The Grand Theft Auto franchise is littered with strong male protagonists in past titles such as GTA 4's Niko, GTA San Andreas' Carl "CJ" Johnson, and GTA 5's Michael, Franklin, and Trevor. Given this trend, many fans are hoping that the franchise will introduce a heroine in the upcoming Grand Theft Auto 6, according to VW.

It's but natural for fans to long for a female protagonist because it's been a while since developer Rockstar Games introduced a strong female character into the franchise—way back in GTA 3 when Catalina was introduced. Coming up with a female lead will put to rest those criticisms about the game's sexist attitude toward female characters.

Change Of Location

Another exciting topic of speculating among the franchise's fans is the setting of the upcoming title. While it has not been officially announced yet, most fans agree that GTA 6's location will not likely be in London but somewhere in America.

This consensus is based on Rockstar Games' Dan Houser interview with The Guardian back in 2013. When asked if future titles could return to the UK as their location, Houser revealed that while he thinks London and UK offer potential in terms of game environment and gameplay mechanics, the setting is just now what they are looking for in the GTA franchise.

"I think for us, my gut feeling is, GTA London was cool for the time, but games were more limited then... I think there are plenty of great stories we could tell about the UK, great environments to showcase, great gameplay mechanics that could have a UK bent to them - I just don't think it would be a GTA necessarily."

Houser went on to hint that upcoming titles will most likely be set in an American location. While he admitted that he is not speaking for the entire Rockstar group at that moment, he confessed that "my own personal feeling is that GTA is America."

When Is Grand Theft Auto 6 Coming Out?

And now the most important topic of all—the GTA 6 release date. This subject is a favorite topic of speculation among fans who just can't wait for the franchise's next installment. And it's not helping at all that the Rockstar continued to remain silent on the issue.

Without any official announcement, most gamers believe that the title is still around four years away. This estimate is also supported by Michael Pachter, a games industry analyst who told Gamingbolt in an interview that the title could be out by 2022 or, at the earliest, 2021.

"I say it comes out after 2022. Remember, Red Dead Redemption 2 comes out eight years after the first one- so the idea that GTA 6 comes out before 2021 seems ridiculous. And Rockstar, the only announcements they've ever made more than a year before launch was because the launch itself was delayed. So best case, GTA 6 gets announced in 2020 for a 2021 release."