We have been hearing for more than a year that Grand Theft Auto 6 (GTA 6) will add cryptocurrency, and the rumors are making headlines once again.
A well-known Crypto Twitter influencer who goes by Gordon (after big shot Gorden Gekko from the 1987 film "Wall Street") advised his almost half a million followers on Wednesday that “GTA 6 will support cryptocurrency payments,” naming Bitcoin, Ethereum and USDT.
While that sounds super cool and all, no approval for Cryptocurrencies in Grand Theft Auto 6. There have been no announcements about this from Rockstar Games or its parent company Take-Two Interactive, and the word "crypto" doesn't appear anywhere in official trailers or statements.
The tweet swept across the Internet in a matter of hours, racking up more than half-a-million views. When pressed for sourcing, Gordon would joke his "uncle works there" or dismiss previous reports with a claim the news was old.
Decrypt reported on these rumors back in May 2023, and as of this trailer drop — which apparently had “BUY BTC” written right into it by the leaker when first rumored to be true last December— nothing has changed.
Decrypt contacted Rockstar Games for comment but has yet to receive a response.
Ruiner in a Grand Theft Auto 6: In-Game Cryptocurrency to be included, launches at GTA VI was released in 2025? True, but it would be a giant leap for crypto in mainstream gaming. Doing so would give players the opportunity to use cryptocurrency completely under their own management, deciding for themselves how they will earn (or spend) these assets within the game - something hardly another single games developer succeeded (@tested).
Even Take-Two Interactive has shown interest in the cryptocurrency space. The latter have been snapped up again in single digit billions to start 2022, the casual gaming giant Zynga. They also said they could invest in “Web3 opportunities,” Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick added. Some time after, Zynga made its first push into blockchain games by launching Sugartown on Ethereum. But it has yet to do so with its other brands of Take-Two properties.
On the other hand, Rockstar Games recently cracked down on cryptocurrency and NFTs in player-run GTA 5 servers back by late-2022. This followed a period of increasingly widespread use where NFTs were used to refer to exclusive, player-owned goods in what you can think of as 'forked game servers. The ban showsat least Rockstar are being careful about the manner in which they implement blockchain into their games.
The future in GTA 6 of cryptocurrency is not quite clear, but the continued possibility it suggests reflect an increased attention by blockchain technology on gaming industry. If GTA 6 does feature community currency capabilities, it may well pave the way for new practice among other developers, bridging gaming even more tightly with digital finance.