Brace for Impact: 'Grand Theft Auto 6' Is Coming

The launch of what many are predicting will be the biggest video game of all time is just months away: Grand Theft Auto 6. The question isn’t whether it’ll sell. It’s how deeply it’ll embed itself in the culture for years to come.

Anticipation has been building for more than a decade. GTA V feels like a lifetime ago, and calling fans excited would be an understatement. This isn’t just a game release—it’s an event. I mean, even its trailers have become cultural moments. Netflix has secured an exclusive early window for the franchise’s next major preview and some are wondering whether the streaming giant can handle the crush of viewers without technical problems.

The series began modestly, but it didn’t become what we know today until Grand Theft Auto 3 in 2001. I remember the buzz, but I didn’t buy it at launch. Then a friend told me it felt like “playing Pulp Fiction,” and that was all I needed to hear. The idea of committing heinous crimes and acting like a complete sociopath from the safety of my futon sounded oddly compelling. I drove my maroon Dodge Stratus to Best Buy, handed over my cash, and raced home to play.

I don’t want to sound like Grandpa Simpson, but back then, kids, there really was nothing like it. You could go almost anywhere, do almost anything. It wasn’t linear. Carjackings, bazookas, random brawls — it was all on the table. Even the in-game radio stations felt revolutionary. I’d been playing games for years, and this was one of the few times I remember feeling genuinely stunned.

But there was another sensation, too. The game is a satire of America, and even with that layer of irony, I couldn’t shake a low hum of embarrassment. There I was, grinning as I mowed down pedestrians and plowed through firetrucks. That discomfort sharpened when my two roommates walked in and saw what I was doing. I don’t recall the exact exchange, just the core of it: them looking perplexed asking why this was fun, and me fumbling for an answer beyond, “I don’t know. It just is.”

Now comes Part 6. There’s never been a game this anticipated. The closest parallel I can think of is Star Wars: The Phantom Menace (and we all know how that turned out). I’ll play, no doubt. But I’m not eager to do it in front of anyone.