A new report has pushed back on the idea that Grand Theft Auto VI is running on a completely rebuilt version of Rockstar's proprietary Rage Engine, with an anonymous source telling Kotaku the reality is more of an evolution than a ground-up overhaul.
Where the "full rebuild" idea came from
The speculation started with former Rockstar audio designer Rob Carr, who worked on GTA 5 and Red Dead Redemption 2 before leaving the studio in early 2016. Speaking on the Kiwi Talkz podcast, Carr floated the theory that given how long GTA 6 has been in development, the team had "probably rebuilt the entirety of the Rage Engine." His reasoning was straightforward: hardware architecture has advanced significantly since GTA 5 launched, and the gap between releases has been long enough to justify a complete overhaul.
Here's the thing, though. Carr was clear this was personal speculation, not insider knowledge. He left Rockstar nearly a decade ago, so his read on the current state of the engine is an educated guess, not a report from the inside.
What the anonymous source actually says
Kotaku's Zack Zwiezen dug into the claim and came back with a different picture. According to an anonymous source described as having knowledge of Rockstar's current work, GTA 6's engine expands on what the studio built for Red Dead Redemption 2 and GTA 5, rather than replacing it entirely. Rockstar apparently has a habit of mixing and iterating on its existing technology rather than scrapping it and starting fresh.
That framing makes a lot of sense when you look at the studio's history. GTA 5's engine was itself a significant evolution of what powered GTA 4, and Red Dead Redemption 2 pushed that same foundation considerably further. A pattern of iterative expansion is consistent with how Rockstar has actually operated across multiple generations.
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The anonymous source's identity and exact relationship to Rockstar has not been confirmed. Treat this as informed reporting, not official confirmation.
The broken save system rumor, addressed and dismissed
Zwiezen's report also takes a moment to knock down a separate rumor that had been circulating via gossip newsletter Popbitch. The claim, reportedly originating from a pub in Dundee, Scotland, was that GTA 6's save and load function is broken, with early builds allegedly not including it and the sole developer responsible having since been laid off.
The key here is that this one required almost no investigation to dismiss. The idea that a studio spending what analysts estimate is over $2 billion on a single title would ship a game without a working save system strains credulity well past the breaking point. Zwiezen confirms that, per his understanding, the save functionality is intact and working as expected.
What this means for the actual game
The distinction between "full rebuild" and "major expansion" matters more than it might seem at first. A completely new engine would theoretically allow Rockstar to rethink systems from scratch, but it also carries enormous risk and development overhead. An expanded, heavily modified version of a proven engine, one that already powered some of the most technically impressive open-world games ever made, suggests the team could focus that time on the content and systems players will actually see.
Rob Carr also noted in the same interview that he would be surprised if GTA 6 doesn't pull gameplay ideas directly from Red Dead Redemption 2, much like GTA 5 borrowed elements from the original Red Dead Redemption. If the engine itself is an evolution of the RDR2 foundation, that connection runs deeper than anyone might have expected.
With Rockstar's official launch date now set for November 19, 2026 and full marketing not kicking off until summer, expect the rumor cycle to keep spinning. For more gaming news and analysis as the release window approaches, make sure to check out more:
