GTA 6 could have already fired the first shot in an upcoming AI animation "revolution," according to one veteran Rockstar developer. In an interview with SanInPlay, San Andreas and GTA 3 developer Obbe Vermeij said that the scene from the GTA 6 trailer that he was most impressed by was the beach scene, in which "everybody seems to be doing something else. Every character has its own animation.
" It's certainly a very detailed scene. So detailed, in fact, that Vermeij thinks Rockstar might have had a helping hand in making it. He says he's heard "some rumors of [GTA 6 using] pretty new technology having to do with animation and AI and all that stuff.
" Vermeij doesn't appear to have any proof of that, but it's fair to say that GTA 6's publisher, Take-Two, isn't exactly shying away from AI . In June, CEO Strauss Zelnick suggested that the technology would allow Rockstar devs to "do a bunch of stuff more efficiently. He also dismissed concerns that AI would harm developers, saying that "I don't think for a minute that generative AI is going to reduce employment.
" That's not exactly a popular view in some sections of the industry, of course - video game actors are currently on strike, hoping to gain more protection from AI . GTA 6 won't be affected by those strikes , but the technology has certainly proved divisive across the industry. Vermeij seems to think it's inevitable, and that perhaps AI is overdue.
"I think it's time for a revolution where animation is maybe not hand-animated anymore but it would be more AI-driven and physics-driven." Crucially, what Vermeij is espousing is not entirely brand-new - he points out that "we did some of that in GTA 4." That history is part of why he things that "if anyone is going to make that step [towards AI animation] it's going to be Rockstar.
Vermeij has made a bit of a name for himself in GTA circles this year, talking about his own experiences at Rockstar, as well as his predictions for GTA 6. Of those, the suggestion that GTA 6 may not be "wildly different" from GTA 5 is perhaps his most surprising, but it'll probably be some time before we find out if he's right, as GTA 6 is still more than a full year away. The GTA 6 location is a Vice City made prettier than ever - and a rural Florida that's every bit as chaotic as the real thing .
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