It’s been almost a decade since GTA 5, and developer Rockstar is perhaps beginning to feel the pinch. The studio – which admitted this week it’s effectively abandoning Red Dead Online – said that it understands “more than ever the need to exceed players’ expectations and for [GTA 6] to be the best it can possibly be”.

To be honest, it’s not been the best period for the juggernaut company. Disgruntled Red Dead Online fans are planning an in-game funeral for the multiplayer mode, as Rockstar redirects resources elsewhere. Meanwhile, last year’s GTA Trilogy was critically panned, and while it has improved over the past few months, it’s still not as good as it could and should be.

All of this, of course, serves as a backdrop to its ongoing reliance on GTA 5. While the recent PS5 port of the 2013 open world classic is excellent, it’s beginning to show its age, and a sequel is long overdue. The good news is that the firm is finally listening to fan feedback for GTA Online, and will roll out a slew of necessary improvements later in the summer.

But the jury’s still very much out on GTA 6. Speculation has it that this will be a vastly different experience to what long-time fans expect, with an emphasis on multiplayer and online connectivity. It’s going to be fascinating to see what the company comes up with – especially when you consider that a number of high-profile, veteran staff have since moved on to pastures new.