Microsoft's comments about the release of GTA 6 in 2024 should not be taken literally

Microsoft's statements about the release date of Grand Theft Auto 6 in 2024 should not be taken at face value because they are based on an industry rumor article.

Image Credit: GTA 6 - beebom

Microsoft's recent comments about the release date of Grand Theft Auto 6 are based on rumors rather than solid information.

Microsoft recently submitted a 111-page response explaining why it should be permitted to merge with Activision. That document, which is roughly the length of a Stephen King novella, contains a wealth of information about the games industry, key metrics, and new releases. One of the games mentioned in Microsoft's response is Rockstar Games' highly anticipated GTA 6.

Microsoft's recent comments about the release date of Grand Theft Auto 6 are based on rumors rather than concrete information.

Microsoft recently submitted a 111-page response explaining why it should be permitted to merge with Activision. That document, which is roughly the length of a Stephen King novella, contains a wealth of information about the games industry, key metrics, and new releases. One of the games mentioned in Microsoft's response is Rockstar Games' highly anticipated GTA 6.

"The highly anticipated Grand Theft Auto VI is scheduled for release in 2024," Microsoft stated. However, as with everything else in this document, we must verify the sources. As it turns out, Microsoft—specifically, Microsoft's lawyer—directly bases this statement on a TechRadar rumor post. As a result, it cannot be taken as fact or as something Microsoft believes. Counsel is simply stating that the industry, analysts, and gamers believe it as a result of this article, not that Microsoft believes it.

Almost every website on the planet, including Tweaktown, reported that "GTA 6 is coming in 2024."

Image: Tweaktown

Except that we were one of the first websites to make an educated guess about GTA 6's release date, which was based on a massive revenue forecast spike. Then, in January 2022, several analysts predicted that GTA 6 would be released in 2024. These claims from number crunchers fueled the GTA 6 rumors.

If you read these documents long enough, you'll notice a pattern. To help illustrate their point, Microsoft's and Sony's counsel (the legal teams who write these reports) will frequently cite articles based on rumor, speculation, or supposition. There is a lot of contexts missing here, but we'll do our best to fill it in.

Microsoft is well aware of Rockstar's plans to release GTA 6. They simply cannot tell you because that information is protected. They can, however, link to a publicly available article on the internet. That way, they're not breaking any rules, and all potential "blame" is placed on another website/source.

This type of thing occurs frequently throughout these documents. For example, Sony provides a figure for Battlefield franchise sales based on a Stealth Optional article that also includes VGChartz data.

Sony is well aware of how many copies of Battlefield have been sold. They simply do not want to reveal such sensitive information without EA's permission. EA, for one, is unlikely to want to be involved in a platform war.

These lawyers are literally Googling articles and using them as sources to back up their points, regardless of whether the information is 100% accurate. Remember that as you read the documents. We can't take all of these statements, and especially their sources, at face value unless the data comes directly from the companies.

Source: Tweaktown