Rockstar GamesFans of Grand Theft Auto believe we might not have too long to wait until the game’s next instalment, thanks to a new job listing on Rockstar Games’ website.
The developer behind the franchise posted the listing for an Animation Systems Programmer on its website recently, which eagle-eyed fans think is directly related to the release of Grand Theft Auto 6.
Rockstar Games called for an individual to help develop ‘advanced animation systems for large open world character-based games’ in their advert, something which sounds suspiciously similar to the game in question.
Rockstar GamesWhile the job listing doesn’t explicitly say the company is looking to hire someone to work on GTA 6, direct comparisons can be made between that and the game.
The advert reads:
We are looking for an experienced, talented engineer to help us in developing advanced animation systems for large open world character-based games.
You should have strong coding skills, a good knowledge and interest in character animation systems, and passion for realistic, high quality character motion.
According to Rockstar, the successful candidate will ‘work closely’ with gameplay, AI, tools, and art teams and will ‘develop, maintain, extend, and support’ an extensive high-level run-time animation system.
Rockstar GamesThey will also work alongside a global team of programmers and researchers ‘who collaborate on pushing the boundaries of character animation on next generation hardware’.
This reference to ‘next generation hardware’ is very likely referring to either the PlayStation 5 or Xbox Scarlett – both of which will launch late next year, hence why fans have made the connection that GTA 6 will also launch next year.
Jim Ryan, the CEO at Sony, confirmed the tech giant is already working with developers on games for the PlayStation 5, telling GamesIndustry.biz he is ‘particularly optimistic’ about the ease in which developers are able to get the code running on PlayStation 5 – which is ‘way beyond any experience they’ve had on any other PlayStation platform’.
Rockstar GamesThis isn’t the first time Rockstar Games has hinted at the possibility that the game might be released shortly; earlier this month, Talent Acquisition Lead Kiran Kumar posted about a recruitment drive on LinkedIn for game testers at Rockstar India.
Kumar provided further details via an image included within the post, complete with some gaming artwork in the distinctive style of Grand Theft Auto.
This call for game testers sparked discussion as to whether the game in question could possibly be the long-awaited GTA 6, suggesting the game is at a playable stage with a potential release date on the horizon.
As of yet, there has been no confirmation that this recruitment drive and the job listing are in anyway related to Grand Theft Auto 6.
However, they have given fans fresh hope for a potential 2020 release date.
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A Broadcast Journalism Masters graduate who went on to achieve an NCTJ level 3 Diploma in Journalism, Lucy has done stints at ITV, BBC Inside Out and Key 103. While working as a journalist for UNILAD, Lucy has reported on breaking news stories while also writing features about mental health, cervical screening awareness, and Little Mix (who she is unapologetically obsessed with).