Rockstar Games has some serious making up to do to us, and after publisher Take-Two Interactive repeatedly promised we'd be booting up GTA 6 in 2025, we were disappointed to learn that its release date has been shunted to 2026.
While the wait for GTA 6 rumbles on, Rockstar is at least trying to pacify us by showing off stunning trailers and building up the hype that this really could be the biggest game of all time. Still, considering it'll have been nearly 13 years between entries, there are sure to be some grumpy gamers. This is in stark contrast to the early days of GTA, where it felt like Rockstar was pumping out titles.
2001's GTA III was quickly followed by Vice City in 2002, and then San Andreas in 2004. Even then, we only had to wait four years until GTA IV was released in 2008. While GTA III, Vice City, and San Andreas were rereleased as the disappointing Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy – The Definitive Edition, GTA IV has largely been left to languish as the black sheep of the family.
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There's a lot to be said for Niko Bellic's story, and with Liberty City being a grey and gritty tonic to the neon lights of Vice City (returning in GTA 6), a GTA IV rerelease can make up for both the fumbled of the GTA Trilogy and our extended wait for the next outing.
Writing on the GTA Forum, noted leaker Tez2 claimed that some anonymous source at Rockstar has 'hinted' at a GTA 4 port and teased that "by now it should've gone up a year in development."
This would explain why Rockstar's legal eagles swooped in on the fan-made Liberty City Preservation Project earlier in 2025, with impatient gamers trying to add a playable version of the Liberty City map to GTA V.
While the GTA Trilogy left a sour taste in many mouths and seemingly scuppered plans for more rereleases of the studio's classic catalogue, a GTA IV rerelease could also lead to a resurrection of the Max Payne name. Tez2 adds: "If [Rockstar] still follow their plan laid out from the pandemic days, they'll do an MP3 port after 4.
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“So that is an opportunity to do a bundle or a Definitive Edition. Max Payne 1 & 2 remakes, and a Max Payne 3 port."
Tez2 was responding to a question about whether Rockstar's golden oldies could be coming to 'modern' platforms, suggesting a PS5 and Xbox Series release before the year is out. It's unclear whether Nintendo could get in on the action, but with Elden Ring slashing its way onto the Switch 2, let's never say never.
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The GTA IV rumors come after former Rockstar Games technical director Obbe Vermeij called for a remaster. Seemingly pointing at the success of The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered, Vermeij said there's been great success with recent remasters, and in a separate post, he cheered: "I would like to see it updated. Niko is still the best protagonist in any GTA game I think."
Of course, it's unclear whether Tez2's rumored rerelease is a remaster akin to Oblivion or a disappointing repaint like the GTA Trilogy. While we'd love it to be the former, let's not get our hopes up.