GTA 6 to feature female protagonist and ‘Fortnite map’, according to rumours

Rockstar’s next instalment is rumoured to include an ever-evolving map and the series’ first female protagonist

After reports that Grand Theft Auto 6 won’t arrive until 2025, we thought we’d be taking a backseat with Rockstar for a while. They may take their time but they always deliver a good product; the gap between GTA IV and V was a little over five years, but look at how much support that title has had since then, becoming the first game to span three generations of console gaming.

However, it would seem that the rumour mill is still churning and may be enough to keep us ticking over for the next four years, as reports suggest that the next game – which is set to arrive a full 12 years on from its predecessor – could feature a female main character and an ever-changing map, not unlike live-service such as Fortnite.

These rumblings come after Tom Henderson, a gaming content creator and ‘leaker’ on YouTube, posted a video explaining what he has heard regarding GTA VI so far, as well as caveating that his channel is not typically known for covering this franchise and for fans to “take all this information with a grain of salt”.

The suggestion of game events that could change and expand the map has been mentioned before, as has the notion of a first female protagonist is somewhat new, though the concept has never come to fruition.

Moreover, this is likely much more than a rumour as this intel is being backed all over the place, with Bloomberg journalist and games writer Jason Schreier vouching for Henderson, who is becoming a “consistently reliable source”. He previously leaked info on Battlefield 6 – now confirmed as Battlefield 2042 – prior to its announcement and got a content pull and ban as a result.

Idk why everyone thinks that I said GTA VI was coming in 2023. Everything Tom Henderson has said about the game matches up with what I've heard

— Jason Schreier (@jasonschreier) July 4, 2021

In the thread underneath this tweet, Schreier went on to say that he had also received insider confirming that the game is in early development and that details surrounding the evolving map were genuine.

Schreier states that he reported on this particular aspect a year ago but the fact remains, he’s still going out on a limb to corroborate Henderson’s information. Between them, these two look like the new Ornstein and Romano of gaming.

I dunno I haven't seen everything but it's still early in development, it has an evolving/expanding map (which I also reported last year), etc

— Jason Schreier (@jasonschreier) July 4, 2021

Among other details, it is rumoured that GTA 6 will also be returning to the Vice City setting, though it has been stressed that the location will be a more “modern” version of the iconic Miami-inspired sandbox. Once again, however, the feeling is that this will only be a jumping-off point, as the game could expand all over fictional America and who knows where else.