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Rockstar Striving for “Photorealism” in GTA VI

As if they weren’t already
by Joe Wilcock on August 16, 2022   



Grand Theft Auto VI news is coming like buses after years of virtual silence. Rockstar is famously tight-lipped about their projects, whether that be GTA, Red Dead Redemption or the intermittent one-offs they produce but details regarding GTA’s 6th instalment are slowly but surely being drip fed to us. This time, by way of leaker Tez2, it has been revealed that Rockstar is looking to achieve photorealism in GTA VI. 
 

“An ex Rockstar dev mentioned to a friend that [GTA 6] will be very much into photorealism. That’s about the only hint he gave since it’s very much obvious and common sense.”

- Tez2


As much of a no-brainer as this might seem, considering that Rockstar titles have always lent on accurate depictions of real life, it indicates that they will look to push technological boundaries once again. Some may argue that Red Dead Redemption already achieved photorealism or at least came as close as any other game has. 

So, from shrinking horse balls to real-time hair growth (relatively speaking), unrivalled physics to authentic mud and snow, just how close has Rockstar come to replicating real life so far? 

 

Grand Theft Auto 1 and 2 

 

Starting in 1997 and with the first Grand Theft Auto, the graphical fidelity of the series debut was severely hampered by the technology of the time. That being said, compared to its competitors in 1997 it looked relatively dated regardless of the handicap. Although not always fair to directly compare a game's graphical styles, it paints a picture of the standards back in the late 90s. Final Fantasy VII, Oddworld: Abe’s Odyssey and Tomb Raider II all came out that year and looked far more impressive than GTA. However, the premier nor its sequel were trying to achieve any semblance of photorealism.  

Grand Theft Auto II adopted a similar graphical style to its predecessor and was released in 1999. The end of the PlayStation One was neigh and developers had hit their stride with Sony’s first console, managing to squeeze every last ounce of potential from it. Exemplified by Final Fantasy VIII, Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater, Age of Empires II and Silent Hill, GTA was still a ways away. 
 


Grand Theft Auto III

 

The landscape of gaming would be changed forever after the release of Grand Theft Auto III in 2001, of that there is no doubt. At this point, impressive graphics were sacrificed for sheer scale and freedom, giving players one of the first genuine sandboxes of its type. The game looked fine for the time but pales in comparison to rival games. Final Fantasy X, Devil May Cry, Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty and Silent Hill 2 were all products of 2001, all of which were clearly aiming for photorealism and got much closer than GTA III could. 
 

 

Grand Theft Auto San Andreas, Vice City, Bully and Manhunt

 

All released within four years of each other, Rockstar started to up the ante with this batch of games. Starting with Vice City in 2003 and culminating with Bully in 2006, the leap in quality as far as their graphics are concerned was massive. Vice City got by on its stylised location and San Andreas will always be charming, if not a little rough around the edges but Bully was arguably their best-looking game so far. More detail was on display in Bully than ever before thanks to its smaller-scale map and story. Unfortunately for Rockstar, Gears of War, Dead Rising and Splinter Cell: Double Agent was released that year albeit for the next generation consoles. Bully would later receive a next-gen upgrade but it was still miles behind the aforementioned titles. 
 

 

Grand Theft Auto IV, Red Dead Redemption and L.A Noire

 

Then came Grand Theft Auto IV which revolutionised the series with an all-new engine packed with mind-blowing physics, details and finally photorealism… almost. Released in 2008, there is truly little else that could rival the spectacle of GTA VI, and by extension the first Red Dead Redemption at that time. Gears of War 2 looked fantastic, as did Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots but Rockstar had leapfrogged both series in terms of graphical fidelity.    

L.A Noire was similarly groundbreaking, thanks in no small part to its dedicated studio built for capturing facial expressions, the likes of which had never been seen before. The graphics had become so realistic, that the game has you gauging character agendas by reading their faces to differentiate between deception and the truth. 
 

 

Grand Theft Auto V and Red Dead Redemption II

 

Although released 5 years apart from each other, with GTA V launching in 2013 and Red Dead Redemption II releasing in 2018, these two titles put Rockstar on top of the gaming industry, if they weren’t already. There’s nothing more that can be said here about GTA V, a cultural phenomenon and the second best-selling game of all time with 169,000,000 units sold it is an absolute behemoth. Oh, and it looked pretty darn good too. Red Dead Redemption II on the other hand had unprecedented graphics and could be touted as the best-looking game ever. Pushing the PlayStation 4 to its absolute limit, the only games that could rival Red Dead Redemption II are God of War (2018) and The Last of Us Part II, but even they can’t boast graphics like Rockstar’s brilliant western. 
 

 

So, if Rockstar can achieve virtual photorealism with Red Dead Redemption II on last-generation consoles, who knows the sort of graphics that they can produce in GTA VI for the PlayStation 5? 

Check back with DailyGamer for more Grand Theft Auto news. 

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