Grand Theft Auto 6 is easily the most anticipated gaming launch in recent memory. It’s carrying so much hype that what could’ve been big news for other titles, like being featured on the New York Times Square, ends up being buried for months. But what exactly makes each new Grand Theft Auto game, beyond being a masterpiece, so hyped? Dan Houser, the co-founder of Rockstar Games, believes he has the answer.
During his recent appearance on the Lex Fridman podcast, the former creative lead behind the best-selling series opened up about why GTA titles consistently command such attention, and his explanation is refreshingly straightforward.
According to Dan Houser, GTA games generate so much excitement because they don’t come out that often, which, to be honest, qualifies as an understatement. Grand Theft Auto 5 came out in 2013, two console generations ago. So the gap between mainline entries now covers over a decade, with GTA 6 set to arrive in May 2026.
Annual releases have become standard for properties like Call of Duty, sports titles, and other blockbuster series. The advantage of that approach is consistent revenue and maintained mindshare. Players know a new entry arrives every year like clockwork, creating predictable purchasing patterns. However, it also means players can take these releases for granted. The excitement for each release diminishes when another one will arrive just twelve months later. At the same time, it puts the burden on the development teams to come up with something special year in and year out, which is easier said than done.
Rockstar has taken the opposite approach. The wait makes people hungry for the next experience in ways that wouldn't happen with more frequent releases. Of course, Houser was quick to note that constant innovation plays a role as well. Rockstar has done a really good job of making each game feel different, he explained. Players have strong feelings about which entries they prefer precisely because the games are pretty different from each other.
Case in point, Grand Theft Auto 4 was never the most popular game among casual audiences, but hardcore fans and developers like Dan Houser himself and Obbe Vermeij swear by it.
Houser also pointed out that this innovation happens with a consistent framework. You know it's going to be a game about being a criminal, as Houser noted. Where the innovation comes in is how those criminal activities play out, the tone and setting of each story, the specific mechanics and systems players interact with, and the satirical targets the writing focuses on.
Grand Theft Auto 3 felt dramatically different from Grand Theft Auto: Vice Citydespite sharing the same basic structure. At the same time, Grand Theft Auto: San Andreasexpanded the scope and added RPG elements that weren’t present in previous entries.
