What Engine Does Grand Theft Auto 6 Use?

The first teaser for Grand Theft Auto 6 has managed to shock and amaze players around the world with its stunning rendition of Vice City. Given the quality of these graphics, you may have found yourself wondering about the kind of magic Rockstar has cast on it. Interestingly enough, it’s none other than the company’s proprietary in-house engine—RAGE.

Back in the days of the sixth generation of consoles, Rockstar mostly worked with Criterion Games’ Renderware engine. Following the latter’s acquisition by EA, R* opened its RAGE Technology Group and work began on the engine we know today. 

The Rockstar Advanced Game Engine has come a long way since its inception, being used in GTA titles since the fourth entry, Max Payne 3, and the Red Dead Redemption duology to push the limits of graphical fidelity as we know it. Grand Theft Auto 5 demonstrated the prowess of RAGE with the experience it delivered during the seventh generation and Red Dead Redemption 2 features one of the most breathtaking open-worlds to date.

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GTA 6 is the next game being developed with the RAGE engine. As reported by Rockstar Mag earlier this year, the studio has updated its engine for the monumental sequel to deliver an experience that truly harnesses the power of current-gen hardware. Version 9 will innovate on game physics, realistic time management, rendering quality, and artificial intelligence.

As shown in the teaser, there will be a rather huge gap in visuals between Red Dead Redemption 2 and Grand Theft Auto 6. Of greater interest is how water will be simulated in the game in addition to vehicle deformations, enabling it to reach new heights of immersion.

Grand Theft Auto 6 is set to arrive on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S in 2025 with no mention of a PC release at the moment. The first teaser, despite being leaked early, shattered records as it reached 100 million views on YouTube in the first 24 hours with over 9 million likes.