decrypt.co
Rumors that the widely anticipated Grand Theft Auto 6 will utilize cryptocurrency have been circulating for more than a year now—and they’re swirling again.
On Wednesday, a pseudonymous Crypto Twitter influencer called Gordon—apparently named after Gordon Gekko from the iconic 1987 film “Wall Street”—shared to his nearly 500,000 followers that “GTA 6 will enable cryptocurrency payments,” and that “so far only Bitcoin, Ethereum, and USDT [are] confirmed.”
But in reality, no cryptocurrencies have been confirmed for Grand Theft Auto 6, despite the ongoing chatter around the rumors. Rockstar Games and parent company Take-Two made no such announcements this week on the matter, nor previously, and the official trailers and announcements have made zero mention of crypto inclusion.
However, the tweet—which also included a fake trailer for the game—quickly went viral, with more than 500,000 views as of this writing after just a matter of hours. When Twitter users asked Gordon for his sourcing, he’d jokingly reply that his “uncle works there,” or say that previous reports on the matter were “old” at this point.
Fake news.
— BORED (@BoredElonMusk) July 3, 2024
But in truth, nothing has changed since Decrypt’s GG reported on earlier rumors in May 2023, nor since the first official trailer—which initially leaked with “BUY BTC” stamped on it, apparently by the leaker in question—debuted last December.
Decrypt’s GG reached out to Rockstar Games for comment, but did not immediately receive a response.
Could Grand Theft Auto 6 implement a crypto element when it launches in 2025? It’s certainly possible, and if so, it would be a transformative moment for the embrace of cryptocurrency by the traditional gaming industry.
Take-Two Interactive has previously explored the space, acquiring casual gaming giant Zynga in early 2022 as Take-Two founder and CEO Strauss Zelnick suggested there were “Web3 opportunities” they could explore better as a team. Zynga has since launched its first blockchain game on Ethereum, called Sugartown, but Take-Two still hasn’t dabbled with its other brands.
Rockstar Games, on the other hand, banned the use of cryptocurrency or NFTs on player-run Grand Theft Auto 5 servers in late 2022, following a surge in the use of NFTs to represent unique, player-owned assets within modified game servers.
And given Grand Theft Auto’s satirical tone, the game might be more likely to skewer cryptocurrency and poke fun at caricatures of crypto and NFT die-hards, for example, rather than try to launch its own on-chain coin. But that’s all speculation at this point, as there are relatively few official details around GTA 6.
For now, at least, don’t believe the hype. While Rockstar Games hasn’t officially closed the door on cryptocurrency being used in Grand Theft Auto 6, it also hasn’t confirmed anything at all on that front. It’s sure to remain a hot topic in the long run-up to release, however, which is currently pegged for fall 2025.
Edited by Ryan Ozawa.