Former GTA Technical Director Says Delays Are Better Than Early Hype: “Announce It and Release It Six Months Later”

Obbe Vermeij believes announcing games too early only leads to frustration for fans.

Former Grand Theft Auto technical director Obbe Vermeij has shared his thoughts on the repeated delays surrounding GTA 6, arguing that the modern habit of announcing games years in advance often does more harm than good. In a recent interview, he admitted it can be frustrating to watch anticipation build for something that remains far away.

According to Vermeij, fans dissect every detail once a game is revealed—sometimes to an extreme degree. He pointed out that players are already mapping entire cities from trailers, even when delays weren’t originally planned. For him, this kind of long-term hype risks exhausting audiences before the game even launches.

He cited The Elder Scrolls 6 as an example of a title revealed far too early, saying that years of discussion can leave players feeling worn out by the time it finally arrives. “It’s much better to announce a game and release it six months later,” Vermeij said, adding that he prefers not to dwell on GTA 6 at all—only to look forward to the day it finally launches.

Vermeij left Rockstar in 2009 after more than a decade at the studio, where he served as technical director on GTA 3, Vice City, San Andreas, and GTA 4. Today, he’s focused on an independent PC project called Plentiful, which already has a playable demo available on Steam.