After nine years, Rockstar has officially confirmed that the highly anticipated Grand Theft Auto 6 is already in development. The news excited a fanbase that was still largely reeling from the abysmal quality of the recent release of Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy – The Definitive Edition.

Social media was immediately filled with excitement as people posted reaction images and memories of GTA 5, as well as speculation and polls on what new features or locations might be in the next step of the series. Also part of the announcement news was that PlayStation 5 would be getting its next-gen version of Grand Theft Auto: Online on March 15th.

Many of you have been asking about a new entry in the Grand Theft Auto series.

With every new project, our goal is always to significantly move beyond what we've previously delivered. We're pleased to confirm that active development for the next entry in the series is underway.

— Rockstar Games (@RockstarGames) February 4, 2022

Grand Theft Auto V and GTA Online are coming to PS5 on March 15, 2022.

Get GTA Online for free exclusively on PS5 for the first 3 months from the game’s launch (PlayStation Plus required to play). pic.twitter.com/6cSaTxhZ1l

— PlayStation (@PlayStation) February 4, 2022

The group chat seeing the news about GTA 6 pic.twitter.com/0dB5oUk5qG

— 100 Thieves (@100Thieves) February 4, 2022

GTA 6 is trending and it’s because Rockstar actually announced it, never thought I’d see the day. pic.twitter.com/2JPYtEQQR2

— Fiending For Followers ‼️ (@Fiend4FolIows) February 4, 2022

wake up to find out GTA 6 is now in the works pic.twitter.com/oesvx6SO6A

— $𝔩𝔞𝔭☃️ (@slvppy) February 4, 2022

However, there were some who weren't exactly thrilled at the development announcement. While many appeared to be happy with the game series and are thrilled that there is more on the way, they took umbrage with how long it took to announce the game was in development and what this could mean for the full dev cycle of the game.

With the recent release of Dying Light 2, gamers had just finally gotten rid of one of the longest running memes in gaming, only for a new one to start up with how long they expect it to take for GTA VI to finally drop. This has also kick-started a resurgence of GTA V memes being posted, especially if they relate to the longevity that the game had with being released on three different generations of consoles.

Rockstar Games: GTA 6 is coming.

Meanwhile… GTA 5: pic.twitter.com/eeEqvwP1Ki

— In My Mind (@MeAloneInMyMind) February 4, 2022

Me and the boys when GTA 6 Comes out pic.twitter.com/s8g58xQIXW

— KiNG👑😈🦾🅴 (@KiNG_JoKeR313) February 4, 2022

GTA 6 news? My body is ready😫 pic.twitter.com/KMGlaAJguA

— Intel Gaming (@IntelGaming) February 4, 2022

They shoulda announced GTA the year it was coming out man lol I ain’t tryna be hyped for a 8 years

— Mark Phillips (@SupremeDreams_1) February 4, 2022

I for one am disappointed, I was hoping to see GTA V released on the PS7

— Dolan Dark (@DolanDark) February 4, 2022

Can't wait to sit down and play GTA VI with my grandkids. pic.twitter.com/ZAph6TCr5E

— Hitmarker (@HitmarkerJobs) February 4, 2022