What if GTA VI doesn't reach 90? The impossible expectations debate is already open

Two months before launch, the debate that will follow GTA VI all the way to review season has already started: can any game live up to this level of anticipation? An Insider Gaming editorial, relayed by Sunday Guardian Live, raises an uncomfortable possibility: that some major outlet could score GTA VI below 90.

The argument isn’t that the game will disappoint. It’s that “too much is expected from GTA VI.” After GTA V’s success, more than a decade of GTA Online, and a marketing campaign that turned every trailer into a global event, the bar isn’t high - it’s in orbit. A merely excellent game could face harsher-than-usual criticism precisely because of what’s expected of it.

Rockstar’s track record explains the pressure: GTA V and Red Dead Redemption 2 both landed in the high 90s, and Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick himself has said in interviews that review scores matter as much as ever because they reflect the studio’s commitment to quality. He’s also admitted that dealing with this launch’s expectations is both “exciting and terrifying.”

Some perspective on the headline: an 88 or 89 would be an outstanding score for almost any game. But for a release aiming to be the biggest in the medium’s history, any number below the top range will generate headlines by itself. That’s the editorial’s core thesis: GTA VI’s risk isn’t quality, it’s the measuring stick.

And the nature of all this needs underlining: it’s editorial opinion, not reporting. Nobody outside Rockstar has played the final version, reviews will arrive when they arrive, and the only real verdict comes on November 19. Meanwhile, this Tuesday’s Game Informer cover story is the next chapter in gauging whether expectation is running ahead of reality or the other way around.