Rockstar has some particularly grand hopes for Grand Theft Auto 6, with the developer referring to its upcoming project as “the largest game launch in history.”
The company’s claim — which few are likely to argue with — was published as part of a job advertisment viewable via Rockstar’s website. In it, the developer says it is seeking a lead software engineer to ensure everything goes smoothly when GTA 6 finally arrives next year.
Rockstar’s lucky candidate will work with “some of the most talented people in the industry”, the company said, to help develop the data platform behind the upcoming behemoth.
“With the continued growth of Grand Theft Auto Online and the upcoming release of Grand Theft Auto 6, the successful candidate will lead both the evolution and operation of the data platform supporting what will be the largest game launch in history,” Rockstar wrote, “ensuring it scales to deliver an exceptional experience for millions of players worldwide.”
At the time of writing, the most recent version of the job ad (first spotted on social media by TheGTABase) no longer includes this paragraph, though IGN was able to view an older, archived version of the page to verify it was previously present.
It’s unclear whether Rockstar is referring to GTA 6 as being the largest game launch in terms of how lucrative it will be, or how many players are likely to be flocking into the game during its first few days. Analyst firm Ampere previously estimated that GTA 6’s likely impact on the gaming industry will be worth $2.7 billion.
Currently set to launch in just eight months’ time, GTA 6 will mark the first new entry in Rockstar’s best-selling series in over a decade. There’s plenty of pent up demand for a fresh Grand Theft Auto, then, since GTA 5 originally launched back for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 in 2013.
A recent trailer showed off much more of GTA 6, including its dual protagonists Jason and Lucia, and finally set a May 26, 2026 release date. Still, though, there’s much about the game that’s being kept under wraps.
So far, Rockstar has not shared any details of GTA 6’s version of GTA Online, which presumably this job applicant will be working on if they are leading development of its data platform. Whether the new version of GTA Online launches day and date with the main GTA 6 campaign remains to be seen, however — and that’s if there are no further delays to the project overall.
Whenever GTA 6 does arrive, it’s fair to say that no other game developer will want to launch their project anywhere near Rockstar’s release. Indeed, earlier this month, Ghost of Yotei director Nate Fox said his team at Sucker Punch celebrated GTA 6’s previous delay out of this year, giving their game a clear run at the holidays. “We’re all still hungover, multi-month hangover,” Fox said. “That was a great day.”
Could GTA 6’s launch slip again? Strauss Zelnick, boss of Rockstar parent company Take-Two, previously told IGN that “historically when we set a specific date, generally speaking, we’ve been very good about reaching it.” Here’s hoping Rockstar fills that job fast.
Tom Phillips is IGN’s News Editor. You can reach Tom at [email protected] or find him on Bluesky @tomphillipseg.bsky.social
