When the world is waiting for Grand Theft Auto 6, Rockstar finally released GTA 5 and GTA Online in both Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (ZAA).
Despite the launch of almost 12 years ago and selling 215 million copies in other parts of the world, neither Saudi Arabia, nor ZAAs had previously cleaned the hit Rockstar 2013 for sale – up to this week.
Problems regarding the age -old game assessment and local regulations prohibiting games with violence, sex and drug operate have long stood on the path of local fans playing legally GTA 5 – though as A Niko Partners A backlit report, some fans previously raised restrictions, quietly importing box copies or downloading the game via PlayStation or Xbox accounts associated with other regions.
Now fans can simply buy a copy of GTA 5 in accordance with the law, which was ultimately issued as part of the fresh age assessment of 22 countries. The launch of this higher age limit, after the introduction of the localized age assessments in 2016, helped glossy the delayed GTA 5 to release-with a bit of support from the mother company Rockstar, Dist-Otwo Interactive to Starme the Wheels.
The recently found partnership between Take-Two and the Saudi company, Advanced Initiative Company, will make the latter now be the local distributor of all titles in the current two, including GTA 5, WWE 2K, NBA 2K and Red Dead Redemption.
Countries, with a total population of about 44 million, will probably now become a market where Rockstar can sell GTA 6 when it finally appears.
After more than a decade of development and a recent stern delay, GTA 6 is to be launched on May 9, 2026, waiting for further stops.
Tom Phillips is the editor of Ign. You can reach Tom at tom_phillips@ign.com or find him on BlueSky @tomphillipseg.bsky.Social
