The release of Grand Theft Auto VI is approaching, and some industry representatives are sharing their thoughts on the new installment of the franchise. Recently, a former Naughty Dog employee gave an interview on Kiwi Talkz, and during the conversation, Rockstar Games' project was discussed.
Matt Radford worked at Naughty Dog as a visual effects artist on games like The Last of Us and Uncharted 4. During the interview, he said that he is interested in shorter games:
I'm 38 years old. And the very thought of GTA VI or a new The Elder Scrolls scares me. Personally, I'm currently looking for shorter, more focused projects that will allow me to have a great time. Such games, perhaps, excite me much more.
Not everyone can afford to dedicate several dozens of hours to one game to reach the final credits. And short campaigns can be completed over a weekend.
Matt Radford also noted that even The Last of Us Part II 'seemed too long' to him. He liked the early installments of the Uncharted franchise, which could be completed in 6-8 hours.
Now game budgets are ballooning, and production can cost hundreds of millions of dollars. Radford believes that creating shorter, more compact projects would help reduce costs:
GTA VI, of course, will be amazing — I'm sure of it. And I think the whole industry wants it to be successful. No player will be happy if it fails, because that would be a very bad sign for the business.
Grand Theft Auto VI is scheduled for release on November 19, 2026, on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S consoles.