We Waited 12 Years for GTA 6 — Here Are 30 Wild Things That Happened in the Meantime

Grand Theft Auto V launched on September 17, 2013, and the years since have seen a long trail of tech, culture, and media moves. Below is a concise list of major, verifiable things that happened between GTA V’s release and today.

1. Two console generations
2. Virtual Boy on Switch Online
3. U.S. presidential administrations since 2013
4. Short-form video apps: Vine, Byte, TikTok
5. Quibi’s launch and shutdown
6. Taylor Swift’s releases and re-recordings
7. Panera’s Charged Lemonade litigation
8. The John Wick franchise expansion
9. Notable long-delayed film sequels
10. Other notable things we got

Two console generations

When GTA V released in September 2013 it shipped on PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. Two console generations have followed since then: Sony and Microsoft released the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One in November 2013, and later launched the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S in 2020. Additionally, Nintendo released the Nintendo Switch in 2017 and the Switch OLED model in 2021. These are documented hardware release dates across the industry.

Virtual Boy on Switch Online

Nintendo has added legacy content to Nintendo Switch Online over time. Among those efforts, Nintendo announced plans to bring games from the Virtual Boy library to its Switch Online service, and produced a functional tabletop-style reproduction of the Virtual Boy headset for those releases.

U.S. presidential administrations since 2013

At the time GTA V launched, Barack Obama was serving as U.S. president. Since September 2013 the United States has had two different presidents after Obama: Donald Trump (2017–2021) and Joe Biden (2021– ). Those are factual changes in national leadership since the game’s release.

Short-form video apps: Vine, Byte, TikTok

Short-form social apps have risen and fallen in the last decade. Vine (which became widely known in the mid-2010s) was discontinued by Twitter and effectively shut down in 2017. Byte, a successor project launched by Vine co-founder Dom Hofmann in 2020, later went through rebrands and closures and was shuttered by 2023. Meanwhile, TikTok first launched internationally in 2016 and has grown into a major global platform.

Quibi’s launch and shutdown

Quibi launched as a short-form streaming service in April 2020 and announced its shutdown in October 2020. The service’s lifespan was measured in months rather than years.

Taylor Swift’s releases and re-recordings

Taylor Swift has released multiple studio albums and a set of re-recorded “Taylor’s Version” albums since 2013. Notably, she rerecorded several earlier albums and released those new versions in the 2020–2023 period. In addition, coverage has noted instances where Swift referenced pop culture topics in her work; for example, reporting on a Swift lyric tied to Grand Theft Auto can be found on this Kotaku story.

Panera’s Charged Lemonade litigation

Panera faced lawsuits over its highly caffeinated “Charged Lemonade” product, and reached settlements related to claims that linked the drink to adverse events. Reporting on those legal developments is available from both Slate and NBC News.

The John Wick franchise expansion

The John Wick franchise began with the first film in 2014. Since then the franchise has expanded to multiple feature films, a television series, spin-offs, comic books, and tie-in media. These releases span the mid-2010s through the early 2020s and represent a substantial multimedia expansion around the original 2014 film.

Notable long-delayed film sequels

Several film franchises released sequels many years after their originals. Examples include:

• Top Gun: Maverick (2022), a sequel to Top Gun (1986).
• Good Burger 2 (2023), a sequel to Good Burger (1997).
• Bill & Ted Face the Music (2020), following earlier films from the 1980s and 1990s.
• Space Jam: A New Legacy (2021), a sequel to Space Jam (1996).

Other notable things we got

Between GTA V’s release and today, many other cultural and tech items arrived. The list below highlights concrete, verifiable items that occurred in that span:

• Hollow Knight released, and its sequel/hype around Silksong continued.
• Numerous Call of Duty titles were released through the 2010s and 2020s.
• Chris Pratt voiced Mario in the Super Mario Bros. film (2023).
• “Bowsette” emerged as a fan-created meme and character concept in 2018.
• The COVID-19 pandemic began in late 2019 / early 2020 and affected global society.
• The McRib returned to McDonald’s menu multiple times.
• John Cena, Dwayne Johnson (The Rock), and other stars continued to appear in many films, including franchise entries like San Andreas in The Rock’s filmography.
• Various celebrity and niche game hardware projects have appeared, such as limited-run consoles and promotional devices.
• NFTs rose sharply in public attention and then declined from peak interest.
• CM Punk left WWE and later returned in a separate stint years later.
• Until Dawn released and later inspired renewed interest and a remake announcement.
• The Marvel Cinematic Universe released many films across multiple phases through the 2010s and 2020s.
• Long-running TV and anime series (for example, One Piece) continued to accumulate episodes over the decade.
• White Claw and other hard seltzer brands became widely sold in the United States.
• Homestuck reached its conclusion and new related works and rival projects appeared afterwards.
• Sonic the Hedgehog’s film adaptations were reworked and later received positive reception for the redesigned character.
• Major sports careers unfolded and concluded for various athletes in that period.
• Fortnite launched in 2017 and has since hosted numerous in-game events and crossovers.
• A new Star Wars sequel trilogy was released between 2015 and 2019.
• The character known as Baby Yoda (Grogu) debuted in The Mandalorian (2019) and became a pop culture figure.
• Novelty condiments like “Mayochup” received media attention.
• Oasis reunited for a performance in 2020.
• A live birth was streamed on Twitch and covered widely in press reports.
• No official Bully 2 title has been released by Rockstar as of this writing.

Facts only: this list compiles what happened in the years after GTA V’s 2013 launch and before the next mainline Grand Theft Auto entry. For further reading on specific items above, follow the linked sources embedded in the text.