Report: Three scripts were rejected before the Jason and Lucia storyline for GTA 6
It’s not surprising that the development of GTA 6 has taken so many years, partly because of how successful GTA V was, and still is. Take-Two wanted the next instalment to be perfect and for that, they went through a lot of iteration. As per a new report, the company cancelled three scripts before finally agreeing to the Jason and Lucia storyline. This also reportedly led to the resignation of one of the co-founders of Rockstar.
A writer named Fravilys shared a detailed account on Medium stating GTA 6 went through a lot of changes early on. Apparently, three scripts pitched under the leadership of Dan Houser were rejected by Take-Two Interactive. The first was a thrilling detective plot with three protagonists, but this was deemed too dark and not in line with the company’s expectations. This version was in development till end of 2016 before being cancelled.
The second was based on a policewoman and a Trevor-like (from GTA V) character who was a drug smuggler's underling. This version was also rejected by Take-Two and cancelled mid-2018 after about 18 months of development. Then, the third version was pitched and it involved an African-American man who was a former soldier released from prison, but fell into the criminal world. This again was rejected in March of 2019.
Finally, at the end of 2019, the storyline of Jason and Lucia was pitched and approved with development starting at the beginning of 2020. After all these rejections, however, Dan Houser felt like he needed a break and in February of 2020, Rockstar announced that the then Vice President of Creative at Rockstar Games will be leaving the company.
This report comes after a known leaker shared that GTA 6 is in development hell as Rockstar is struggling with the final chapter of the game. This is suspected to be the reason for the delay from fall 2025 to May 2026. But, do note that both these reports, the Fravilys article and the information from the leaker, should be taken with a grain of salt.
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