New Rockstar job listing hints at GTA 6 release date

Paul Cotton

We still don’t have any official GTA 6 news but a job listing from Rockstar may hint the next Grand Theft Auto game is closer than you think, or further if leaks are to be believed.

A new job advert, posted on recruitment website Monster, states that Rockstar Leeds are looking for an “Environment Artist”. That role sounds pretty broad at first glance, but the job description shares some more interesting details.

Grand Theft Auto or another Rockstar classic?

One part of the job spec requires “creating and texturing environment assets for the biggest and best open world environments in the industry.” While this doesn’t explicitly say GTA 6, there’s a very good chance that the biggest and best open world environments are describing Grand Theft Auto.

Could the environment mentioned be America?

Bully 2 is also apparently in the making, with rumors accelerating on July 28 when Polygon accidentally (or so they claim) posting a URL inferring Bully 2 will be released in the Fall of 2020.

The full responsibilities for the role are as follows:

  • Model, texture and create collision in 3D for game environments.
  • Work closely with Programmers and other departments to ensure art assets are fully optimized for target platforms while minimizing any impact on artistic integrity of assets.
  • Participate in R&D of new techniques to implement into production pipeline.
  • Proactively seek feedback from Lead Artist, Producer and Creative Director.
  • Ensure that artistic style is consistent with defined visual style for the game.
Or is the job listing referencing Bully 2?

GTA 6 next gen?

“Join our team to create next-generation worlds” reads another part of Rockstar Games’ job spec. While the term “next generation” is open ended, it could well allude to the next generation of consoles – specifically Sony’s PlayStation 5 and Microsoft’s Xbox Project Scarlett.

If this is referring to the ninth generation of consoles, then perhaps this could back up the leak that stated GTA 6 will be a next-gen exclusive. This many annoy some GTA fans who want it for current generation consoles, but surely the prospect of Grand Theft Auto in the highest quality graphics never before seen on console is a tantalizing one. 

There’s also another side to the job listing, however. Rumors suggest that GTA 6 could be released as early as November 2020, which if true would make a listing like this a surprise. At this stage, especially one for the size a next generation GTA world, you would expect a lot of the work to be done.

Perhaps Rockstar are still adding or touching up the environment. That’s one option or GTA 6 may come later than a lot of gamers had hoped.

Hopefully, after an agonizingly long wait, Rockstar will release some official information on the project soon.