Summary
While many are waiting forGrand Theft Auto 6’s launch next year, another title in the series was in the works at Meta. Back in 2021, the company announced that it was working on the VR version of one of theGTAfranchise’s most beloved titles,San Andreas, offering a new and unique way to play the title.
Unfortunately, when replying to a comment on the trailer for Skydance’sBehemoth, the officialMeta QuestYouTube account stated that while Meta looks forward to working with Rockstar in the future, the VR version ofGTA: San Andreasis “on hold indefinitely” while both studios “focus on other projects.” This may disappoint those fans keen to jump back into the series ’90s, Los Angeles-inspired title in a more immersive way, but it shouldn’t come as too much of a surprise as Rockstar has previously pulled staff from other projects such asRed Dead Onlinein an “all hands on deck” approach to gettingGrand Theft Auto 6to meet its Fall 2025 release window.
How Likely Is The Latest GTA 6 Release Rumor?
GTA 6 is highly anticipated, and therefore, its release date has been the topic of much speculation and plenty of rumors.
GTA: San Andreas VR Would Have Been A Series First
With GTA 5 Experimenting With The Series In First Person
With theGrand Theft Autoseries predominantly being third-person, be it in its original 2D top-down format or the 3D titles most are used to,GTA: San Andreas VRcertainly would have made for an interesting experience by letting players see Los Santos through the eyes of the game’s protagonist, CJ.Rockstar’s already experimented with a first-person perspective with the PS4, Xbox One, and PC re-release of the latest entry in the series,GTA 5, and this will likely reappear inGTA 6,too, as it was also featured in Rockstar’s most recent title,Red Dead Redemption 2.
However, the option to switch to first-person was not included in thepoorly receivedGTA: The Trilogy - The Definitive Editionrelease back in 2021. This collection included a version ofGTA: San Andreas, but was criticized for its many bugs and for being ported from the mobile version of the game, with many expressing their disappointment. Therefore, if done well, the VR title could have washed away the bad taste of theDefinitive Editionwhile providing a new way to playSan Andreasthat had never been seen before, potentially paving the way for potential VR releases of other games in the series, such asVice City.
AVR mode had been discovered in theGTA Trilogyremaster’s code, suggesting that this may have been the version Meta and Rockstar could have been using.
For now, it’s unclear whetherGrand Theft Auto:San Andreaswill ever be released, but the fact that Meta used the phrase “on hold” rather than “canceled” should offer some hope. In the meantime, the VR gaming space certainly looks set to have an impressive year ahead, with the aforementionedBehemothlaunching this Fall along with the latest entry in the Arkhamverse, the Meta Quest 3-exclusiveBatman: Arkham Shadow, and horror-shooterAlien: Rogue Incursioncoming mere months later in December.
