Something Unusual Just Happened to GTA 6's Industry Classification

This just in: a new video game category has just been created and Grand Theft Auto 6 is its first member.

Nigel Lowrie, who helped establish Devolver Digital, just declared that the upcoming Grand Theft Auto sequel deserves not three, not four, but five A's in its classification, making it the first "AAAAA" game ever.

This classification puts GTA 6 above Skull and Bones, which Ubisoft previously classified as the video game industry's first AAAA game.

In a recent discussion with IGN about how video game companies navigate release dates, Lowrie made the bold claim that GTA 6 exists in a category all its own.

The traditional AAA designation has been around since the mid-1990s, originally borrowed from credit rating systems and Hollywood terminology. It essentially means a game with the highest production values and biggest budgets. Over the years, we've seen the emergence of AA games - typically smaller productions with focused experiences - and even the controversial AAAA category.

But five A's? That's unprecedented territory.

However, unlike Skull and Bones, and other games that flirted with labels above AAA, GTA 6 has the sort of gravitational pull on the entire video game industry that only comes once in a generation.

After all, how many games can you say have dominated conversations over the past eighteen months even though all Rockstar Games have released is the first and second trailer along with limited information about characters and in-game locations?

Unlike most games that are competing against others within their genre, GTA 6 casts a shadow over everything, competing only with its predecessor, Grand Theft Auto 5.

The numbers surrounding the upcoming game are staggering. Industry analysts predict the game could generate billions in revenue during its first year alone.

The previous entry in the series has sold over 215 million copies, making it one of the best-selling entertainment products of all time.

Some estimates suggest the development budget exceeds one billion dollars, with marketing costs potentially adding another half-billion to the total investment.

This massive scale has created an unusual scenario. When Rockstar announced that GTA 6 would slip from fall 2025 to May 2026, studios breathed sighs of relief while simultaneously scrambling to adjust their 2026 plans, further lending weight to earlier claims that executives see GTA 6 as an "iceberg" and a "huge meteor".

However, this unprecedented hype also carries risks.

If GTA 6 can't live up to these astronomical expectations, it might signal that the traditional AAA model has reached its peak. The pressure on Rockstar and Take-Two Interactive are immense, as the game could potentially determine the direction of an entire industry.

So, the question now is, will this "new" category become official? Or, more importantly, will it stick and see GTA 6 be the first of many? We'll find out soon enough.

However, what's clear is that this might be the first and only time that a single title can cause developers of all sizes to rethink their entire strategies and release calendars.

GTA 6 is currently set to release on May 26, 2026 on the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series S/X. A PC port is currently in development.