If you click on a link and make a purchase we may receive a small commission. Read our editorial policy.

GTA games aren't released slowly - fans are showing they want more DLC content than new games quicker says Take-Two Interactive CEO

Some fans might be complaining about the wait for the next Grand Theft Auto game, but they're ignoring how much GTA content gets dropped as DLCs or GTA Online updates

News by Graeme McMillan, Editor

Published on Fri May 16 2025

Popverse's top stories

Marvel TV, DC K.O. an Agents of SHIELD reunion, and a new Game of Thrones show head up New York Comic Con 2025's loaded panel schedule
Despite blistered feet and a 12-inch wig, a young girl reminded me why I only cosplay heroes like All Might and Captain America
DC’s Tom King, Spider-Man’s Dan Slott, Transformers’ Daniel Warren Johnson and so many, many more are tabling at NYCC ‘25’s Artist Alley: Get a look at the full list right here

For all the complaints about how long it takes for a new Grand Theft Auto game to arrive, the company that’s responsible doesn’t feel like it’s slacking — or, for that matter, like most fans are even that upset about how timely everything is in arriving.

“In the case of Grand Theft Auto, we have Grand Theft Auto Online, and Rockstar has been supplying content to Grand Theft Auto Online, some of which is so robust that if you go back 15 years, it would have counted as a standalone title,” said Take-Two Interactive CEO Strauss Zelnick during an appearance on the Game Business podcast. (Take-Two owns Rockstar Games, which produces GTA.) “One could really argue that Rockstar has been putting out a new Grand Theft Auto release a couple of times a year. Same thing holds true for Red Dead Online, which has been on-going. And in the most recent quarter, Grand Theft Auto Online and Red Dead Online has exceeded expectations.”

The era of DLCs and online gaming mean that it’s not “the good old days, or the bad old days depending how you look at it,” as Zelnick put it. Back then, he suggested, “we would work on a title, release the title, hope for the best, and then make another title. Now we have the opportunity for consumers to engage on an ongoing basis with our hits.”

What that means in practice is that companies are actually releasing work as fast as ever (if not faster) — it’s just that it doesn’t translate into ‘new’ game releases as many people recognize them.

“Our strategy is when we give consumers a hit, they would like to stay engaged. And that requires our teams to create more content quite properly, to support that content and to market that content,” he said. “I would argue that Rockstar is delivering to its consumer base daily, and it has been doing that for quite some time, basically since 2014.”

That said, GTA6 still isn’t coming out until next year, and fans are still going to complain about that. Clearly, they just need to distract themselves with GTA Online.

The gaming industry has come a long way since Pong blew all our minds in the 70s. We've got everything you need to know about the next big thing in games. Of course, Grand Theft Auto VI is going to be the big game of 2026, but there are plenty of other games coming out between now and then. Here is our starter guide for every gamer:

And be sure to check Popverse regularly for the latest gaming news.

Follow Popverse for upcoming event coverage and news

Graeme McMillan: Popverse Editor Graeme McMillan (he/him) has been writing about comics, culture, and comics culture on the internet for close to two decades at this point, which is terrifying to admit. He completely understands if you have problems understanding his accent.