Before Grand Theft Auto VI has even shipped, a strange but predictable phenomenon has emerged within the gaming community: organised speculation about Grand Theft Auto VII. The combination of a thirteen-year gap between GTA V (2013) and GTA VI (now scheduled for May 2026), the unprecedented hype surrounding Rockstar Games' flagship franchise, and the gradually changing economics of triple-A development have produced an unusual situation in which fans, journalists and former developers are publicly debating a game that almost certainly does not yet exist in any concrete form. This report surveys the earliest recorded threads of GTA VII speculation, drawing on coverage from ScreenRant, GameRant, GameDecide and other outlets to outline what is being claimed, by whom, and on what evidentiary basis.
The earliest substantive English-language speculation about a numbered Grand Theft Auto VII appears to date from April 2024, when GameDecide ran a feature titled "GTA 7 Speculations, What's Next for Rockstar After GTA 6?" (GameDecide, 2024). The article appeared while GTA VI itself was still a single trailer with no firm release window, and framed its inquiry around historical release cadence, noting "significant gaps between GTA III (2001) and Vice City (2002), and an even longer wait between GTA 4 (2008) and GTA 5 (2013)" (GameDecide, 2024). The piece concluded — pragmatically — that "meticulous world-building and innovation take precedence over a yearly churn of numbered sequels", but the very existence of the article marked the moment that GTA VII transitioned from idle Reddit chatter to indexed editorial copy.
By April 2025, the trend had spread to mainstream gaming press. GamingBible observed that "GTA 6 fans are already getting hyped for GTA 7" and described the phenomenon as "an unfortunate inevitability" given the franchise's release intervals (GamingBible, 2025). Kickstart Game similarly reported that "on platforms like Reddit, discussions about GTA 7 are already gaining traction", attributing the discussion explicitly to the "extended wait" between numbered entries (Kickstart Game, 2025).
The speculation acquired a degree of insider credibility through commentary from two former Rockstar developers. In July 2025, ex-Rockstar developer Obbe Vermeij — credited on GTA titles between 1995 and 2009 — told the Kiwi Talkz podcast (reported via Dexerto and GameRant) that "GTA 7 will be cheaper to make than GTA 6", arguing that "the bulk of the work is probably going to be replaced" by artificial-intelligence tooling within "the next five or so years" (Knight, 2025). Vermeij specifically named map generation and cutscene rendering as candidates for AI automation, while conceding that "tons of higher-level creative stuff" would remain with human artists and writers (Knight, 2025).
In January 2026, ScreenRant amplified comments from another former Rockstar animator, Mike York, given to Esports Bets and reported via Dexerto. York claimed that Rockstar's next project — whether GTA VII, Red Dead Redemption 3 or another title — is "most likely" already in development, on the grounds that "major gaming companies always have two games being developed at once" (D'Amato, 2026). York estimated a release window in "the early- to mid-2030s", citing a typical five-to-seven-year production cycle for games of this scale (D'Amato, 2026). ScreenRant was careful to flag that the claim "has gone totally unsubstantiated by anyone currently working at Rockstar", advising readers to "take it with a grain of salt" (D'Amato, 2026).
Three themes dominate the earliest GTA VII discourse. First, timing scepticism: outlets including Sportskeeda have asked whether GTA VII will materialise at all, given the commercial entrenchment of GTA Online and Take-Two's evident willingness to extend the lifespan of a single instalment across multiple console generations (Sportskeeda, 2023). Second, production-pipeline speculation: Vermeij's AI prediction has become a touchstone for arguments that the next title's development could be shorter and cheaper than GTA VI's reported one-billion-dollar budget (Knight, 2025). Third, setting and protagonist rumours: comment threads on GameRant already show fans nominating Las Venturas, San Fierro and a return to a stylised San Andreas as candidate locations (Knight, 2025), although none of these have any supporting leaks or insider corroboration.
It is worth stating plainly that no credible GTA VII speculation is built on first-party evidence. There has been no Rockstar announcement, no Take-Two earnings-call confirmation, and no internal leak comparable to the 2022 GTA VI footage breach. All reporting to date relies on second-hand commentary from developers who left Rockstar between 2009 and 2014, generalised industry priors about parallel development at large studios, and inferential reasoning from historical release intervals. ScreenRant's own editorial position is that "to start getting excited about GTA 7 at this point just feels greedy" and risks "creating impossible expectations for its launch" (D'Amato, 2026). The speculation is therefore best read as a cultural artefact — a function of audience hunger and content-mill economics — rather than as journalism about a known product.
The earliest GTA VII speculation, traceable to April 2024 and accelerating sharply through 2025 and into 2026, reflects the gravitational pull of the Grand Theft Auto brand more than any verifiable production reality. Former-developer commentary has lent the conversation a veneer of credibility, but no current Rockstar source has confirmed even pre-production work. Realistic estimates from the speculators themselves place any release no earlier than the early-to-mid 2030s, and the practical advice from most outlets remains the same: focus on GTA VI first.
D'Amato, L. (2026) GTA 6 Still Isn't Here, And GTA 7 Has Already Reared Its Head. ScreenRant, 15 January. Available at: https://screenrant.com/gta-6-release-gta-7-speculation-rockstar/ (Accessed: 14 May 2026).
GameDecide (2024) GTA 7 Speculations, What's Next for Rockstar After GTA 6?. GameDecide, 3 April. Available at: https://gamedecide.com/early-gta-7-speculations/ (Accessed: 14 May 2026).
GamingBible (2025) GTA 6 fans are already getting hyped for GTA 7, it's an unfortunate inevitability. GamingBible, 29 April. Available at: https://www.gamingbible.com/news/gta-6-fans-already-hyped-gta-7-515547-20250429 (Accessed: 14 May 2026).
Kickstart Game (2025) GTA 6 Isn't Even Here Yet – But Fans Are Already Talking About GTA 7. Kickstart Game, 30 April. Available at: https://kickstartgame.com/gta-6-fans-already-hyped-for-gta-7/ (Accessed: 14 May 2026).
Knight, K. (2025) Former Rockstar Games Dev Discusses GTA 7 Development. GameRant, 4 July. Available at: https://gamerant.com/gta-7-rockstar-games-development-ai/ (Accessed: 14 May 2026).
Sportskeeda (2023) 5 reasons why there might be no GTA 7 after GTA 6. Sportskeeda, 29 November. Available at: https://www.sportskeeda.com/gta/5-reasons-might-gta-7-gta-6 (Accessed: 14 May 2026).