Former GTA developer says "it's time to revolutionize" where "animation is more AI and physics driven" than done by hand

The last time Rockstar Games released something about GTA 6, it was the first GTA 6 trailer. It premiered on 4 December and immediately broke the Guiness World Record in terms of views for a videogame announcement on YouTube. Since then... nothing. Before that... nothing! The majority of information we've learned about GTA 6 has come from the massive leak of gameplay footage that occurred in 2022 and the December trailer that leaked just before Rockstar released it.

Obbe Vermeij was the technical director of Rockstar North between 1995 and 2009. He says that leaks may not be as bad as they seem. Vermeij gave his opinions on leaks, Rockstar's marketing strategies, and the future of videogames animation in an interview with YouTuber SanInPlay, which was spotted by GamesRadar.

"The leaks aren't as important as people believe," he said. "It's because there are millions of people who are waiting for any kind of news." "And Rockstar doesn't tell them any news."

Vermeij stated in the interview that "he can totally understand" why publishers like Rockstar are silent before a game's launch, despite fans desperately wanting any new information. "Whenever a large company, such as Rockstar, EA or Ubisoft or whatever, says something, it is analyzed and often spun negatively," said Vermeij. "It becomes a negative thing. From their perspective, the best thing to do is to just be quiet. "That's what they are doing."

Vermeij said that it's "a shame" when developers don't speak out more freely and often. He added, "it's also not their fault." It's not just their fault. "Everyone is always attacking the big corporations, so it's better to keep quiet."

Vermeij, ironically, hasn't kept quiet about GTA. He started a blog about his work on GTA 3 & 4 as well as Vice City & San Andreas...and received an email from Rockstar.

In the final blog entry of 2023, he wrote: "I honestly didn't think that anyone would mind my talking about 20-year-old games but I was mistaken." "Something about ruining Rockstar's mystique or whatever." Vermeij also insisted that it was his idea for the blog to be taken down. "No pressure from R*," wrote he. "My choice."

But just because he doesn't want to write about GTA, it doesn't mean that he wont talk about. Vermeij, who has "no information" on GTA 6, did speculate about a scene from the trailer that "blew him away." It's a scene on the beach where "everyone seems to be doing another thing." Each character has their own animation. "I think it looks pretty incredible."

All those different animations could not be hand-made. Vermeij told us he heard "some rumors" that [GTA 6] was using pretty new technology, including animation and AI.

Vermeij said, "I think that it's time for an animation revolution. It would be better if it was AI-driven. "We did some of that, of course, in GTA 4. I think Rockstar will be the first to take this step.

Vermeij said that he does not expect GTA 6 will be "radically different" from GTA 5. He also believes "people may be a bit disappointed" if the new game doesn't have any major innovations. Vermeij said that it was still "going to the best game available."

You can watch the complete interview with Obbe vermeij by SanInPlay on YouTube.