Grand Theft Auto VI is coming. While it was supposed to release this year, GTA 6 has since been delayed to 2026. Hopefully, we get the game on time. However, don’t anticipate a release to land and check all the boxes. There’s one particular box that is like a curse to check off, according to one former developer at Rockstar Games. You just can’t get rid of this headache, and it means dialing one feature back.
Obbe Vermeij is a former technical director at Rockstar Games with quite an impactful career. They were involved with Grand Theft Auto III and left after shipping Grand Theft Auto IV. The franchise still managed to keep going smoothly with Grand Theft Auto V being their biggest release to date. Now, all eyes are on GTA 6 and what it might bring to the table. What it likely won’t bring is 60 FPS.
Obbe was a guest on Kiwi Talkz, where the podcast recently touched on what Obbe feels could happen with the game installment. Of course, Obbe is no longer with Rockstar Games, so he doesn’t necessarily know what is planned. However, one guess that he feels is sensible for developers to run with is 30 fps.
The former Rockstar Games developer said it’s like a curse for developers. You’re always looking to push the bar, and that can come at a cost. For example, if you want a crowded area in the world, you can’t just have a handful of NPCs. You need to add more and increase fidelity. All of these things come at a cost with FPS. So locking it down to 30 fps is likely the option we’ll be stuck with for this game.
Meanwhile, Obbe noted that GTA 7 is likely to take significantly less time to reach the finish line when it enters production. You’ll also likely see the game production costs significantly lower. That’s because he feels AI will make some groundbreaking work for developers. If that happens as Obbe speculates, it could lead to increased risks in game development and the emergence of niche projects. They, of course, are not alone in hoping AI makes a real impact on game development.
As for Grand Theft Auto VI, the game is currently set to release on May 26, 2026. When it does launch, you’ll find it available for the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S platforms.
