From time to time any journalist myself included will engage in speculation based upon probable outcomes. Using a collective knowledge surrounding the topic to fill in the blanks with what will be the most probable outcome. Inherently, there is nothing wrong with this as it is what both detectives and journalists — along with most regular people — have done for as long as the professions and humanity have existed.
What becomes a problem is when this supposition is not marked as supposition and is instead presented as if facts. In this vane we have the news that Grand Theft Auto 6 has been confirmed by a scummy tax credit Rockstar North has received. Yet despite how assured these reports are that the game has been confirmed, when looking at the source material one will find out that the game has in fact not been confirmed. Merely it is presumed based on prior leaks to be the likely candidate for the credit.
An article from UK Tax Watch serving as the source of this rumored confirmation covers how Rockstar North from Edinburgh claimed a total of €37.6m from Video Game Tax Relief program. Despite the company grossing over $6 billion dollars on Grand Theft Auto 5, Take-Two the publishing company behind Rockstar, continues to exploit the tax program to enrich themselves from the public coffers while paying no taxes.
The article mostly covers the negative impact of this tax scheme on the UK economy and goes on to speculate that the money is being spent on the development of GTA 6, but notes that is the likely candidate for money being spent on a project in development. Alternatively, the money could be going to the rumored and leaked Bully 2, which has had a storied development of being cancelled and resurrected on multiple occasions according to both Rockstar and leaks.
Yet some outlets have run that this confirmed the development of Grand Theft Auto 6. It simply doesn’t. It confirms a game in development and the likely candidates are Grand Theft Auto 6, Bully 2, or a new or resurrected intellectual property, but it doesn’t guarantee it is Grand Theft Auto 6. The sad reality is leaks from Rockstar and the mafia-like Take-Two should be taken with a grain of salt as the company does their best to prevent any leaks from their properties, thus leading to a lot of fraudsters to circulate false information.
It would be cool to form a drug empire in Grand Theft Auto 6 set in a revamped Vice City. Very cool in fact as a fan of San Andreas, Saints Row 2, Scarface: The World is Yours and The Godfather series it would be a welcome sight to see a return of a hardcore gang/criminal empire management genre. Yet just because I want that doesn’t mean it’ll happen, but at the same time even some GTA 5 leaks did pan out, so one never know.
