GTA 6: a former Rockstar developer celebrates that the game does not use Unreal Engine 5

Obbe Vermeij, veteran of the saga, considers the decision to continue betting on the own RAGE engine to be correct.

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The debate over Unreal Engine 5 has been growing throughout this generation. Although Epic Games’ engine has shown spectacular graphic potential, it has also accumulated criticism for performance issues in several recent releases, including Metal Gear Solid Δ: Snake Eater.

In this context, Obbe Vermeij, a former Rockstar developer who worked on classics like GTA: Vice City and San Andreas, was consulted about the technological choice behind GTA 6. And his response was clear: he believes Rockstar made the right call by sticking with their own engine, RAGE, instead of switching to Unreal Engine 5.

Rockstar was right to keep RAGE for GTA

Vermeij explained that he’s surprised by how quickly many studios have migrated to Unreal Engine 5, even companies like CD Projekt RED, which had invested years and resources into their own engines. However, he assures that in Rockstar’s case, keeping RAGE is a guarantee of stability and absolute control over the technology in their games.

The former developer’s opinion coincides with the concerns of part of the community, which sees UE5 as a powerful engine, but still full of optimization challenges. According to Tim Sweeney, CEO of Epic Games, many of these problems are due to teams not always being able to get the most out of it.

Meanwhile, what seems clear is that GTA 6 will follow in the technical footsteps of its predecessors, relying on custom-made technology for the type of open worlds Rockstar aims to create. And given the expectations surrounding the game, few will question whether the decision may have been the most accurate one.