GTA 6 fans want a midnight release, just like the good old days

It’s fair to say that anticipation for the next entry in Rockstar Games’ Grand Theft Auto series is through the roof and some fans are already planning for its big release.

I would say that anticipation for GTA VI began to build when Rockstar Games first acknowledged that the title was in development in February 2022 or following the reveal of its first official gameplay trailer in December 2023. But in truth, the hype for the release of GTA VI has probably been building since 2013 with the release of Grand Theft Auto V on PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360.

Check out the GTA VI trailer below!

One individual looking forward to the release of GTA VI, but perhaps in a very different way to the rest of us, is Lawerence Sullivan aka “Florida Joker”. This individual has been at the centre of futile attempts to file a lawsuit against Rockstar Games for allegedly using his likeness in a trailer. In his latest attempt to bargain with Rockstar Games, he has promised to drop his lawsuit as long as he’s allowed to voice a character in GTA VI. Though I doubt Rockstar Games is all that concerned.

However, for the rest of us planning for the launch of GTA VI, some of us may attempt to pull a sick day, but if you have holidays available, it might be best to book the day off officially, just in case. Moreover, fans have also been discussing the good old days of midnight releases and GTA VI could be the perfect game for such an occasion.

I never attended too many midnight launches, as I was more keen on ordering a game to be delivered to my house on the day of release. That being said, the Gears of War 3 midnight launch always brings back fond memories of chatting with friends and randoms as we picked up a copy of the game and rushed home to play it on the Xbox 360.

Gamers on Reddit have been discussing how they’d be more than willing to queue up at midnight for the launch of Grand Theft Auto VI. “Knowing how big GTA V's midnight release was, if there was a midnight release for GTA VI it would be legendary,” said Redditor thebroyouhate kicking off the discussion on the thread.

“Those were the good old days. Now, gamers these days just download games online,” exclaimed Honest-Caramel2870. “I miss midnight releases, they were so good!” said NEGATIVERAGDOLL.

“I always liked the feeling of driving home with a game in my hands, that I've waited so long for. But since digital midnight releases became a thing, I could not imagine anymore NOT playing the game immediately at midnight,” explained MYNAMEISHENDRIK.

A lot of the thread also speaks of the benefit of hitting that download button to purchase the game digitally, and they're not wrong. It’s fair to say that midnight launches on a large scale are a thing of the past. However, with publishers removing digital games now seemingly more than ever, physical game preservation is vital. So whenever I’m able, I may not be attending a midnight launch ever again, but I will at least order online for a big release to be delivered to my home or if I’m in town, I might just pop into the shop to pick up a physical copy of a game that will always be mine.

Grand Theft Auto VI will be released in 2025 for PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S. At the time of writing Rockstar Games has not announced a PC release.