Even Grand Theft Auto is not immune from factors that affect any company making a modern blockbuster video game.
Development has become more expensive, more complex, and the gap between big releases has been widening.
But there are some challenges unique to Rockstar.
The first is hype.
Both of GTA 6’s trailers have smashed YouTube viewership records, and it regularly tops lists of the public’s most-anticipated games.
Strauss Zelnick, boss of Rockstar’s parent company Take-Two Interactive, has said that each new release from the developer needs to wow players.
Rockstar is known for breaking new ground with its games, and its last big release, the western adventure Red Dead Redemption 2 (RDR 2), helped to bolster that reputation
It is still widely considered a benchmark for open-world video games due to its depth and obsessive attention to detail, despite coming out in 2018.
The studio’s impressive track record is attributed to its famously high standards which, in turn, creates ever-higher expectations for its games.
Maintaining its rep is something Rockstar appears to take seriously – both RDR 2 and 2013’s GTA 5 were delayed twice.
And when Mr Zelnick was quizzed on GTA 6’s recent delay at a meeting with investors this week, he told them those working on the game were “seeking perfection”.
