One new Take-Two Patent it was discovered that it appears based on the improvement of AI’s intelligence and navigation capabilities.
The patent, which registers a “system and method for virtual navigation in a game environment” was posted on Reddit in recent days, although the actual document was originally submitted by Rockstar’s parent company, Take-Two, in October 2020 .
In the simplest possible terms, the patent aims to make the artificial intelligence of non-player characters (ie NPCs, for short) a little more intelligent and more organic, in an attempt to move away from current AI solutions that are starting to seem a little out of date.
The patent notes that “conventional systems provide only limited resources” for developers who want to populate their worlds with active elements. Think of the pedestrians you see walking on the street, the cars you see on the roads – even the vehicles you see flying overhead. They are executed in scripts that allow only a limited number of instances to be active in the game at a time. NPCs usually drive at the same speed, follow the same routes and do the same things.
Rockstar thinks these current systems are “deficient” and wants to enable systems that produce “a realistic virtual world that is not limited by hardware or software limitations”.
The system suggested in the patent, then, points to an NPC solution that gives the characters different personalities. Perhaps an NPC in a certain type of car intentionally takes back roads to avoid traffic jams. Perhaps another, who is not such a confident driver, moves much more slowly when the sun goes down at night.
Of course, there is no suggestion that this is definitely linked to GTA 6 at the time of writing; Rockstar barely recognized that the game exists. But references to “high-speed chase”, “ambient traffic” and so on suggest that we are looking for something more modern here. No – for the sake of argument – Red Dead Redemption 3 or similar.
The patent was registered by the parent company, but the names associated with the patent as ‘inventors’ are Rockstar North chief technology officer David Hynd and AI chief Simon Parr. So this is definitely something the studio is looking for when it comes to next generation open world titles.
While Rockstar remains silent about what the hell is working on next, we’ve received reports that the next GTA is in the early stages of development and will be smaller in scale compared to previous Rockstar games.
Elsewhere, Take-Two’s marketing budget seems to imply that GTA 6 could be released in 2023 and a GTA Online race seemed to point to Vice City for GTA 6 in 2020.
Just remember, officially, GTA 6 doesn’t even exist yet.