For years, fans of the "Grand Theft Auto" franchise have been wondering when a new installment will be released. "Grand Theft Auto VI" has been in the rumor mill for so long, and now, new updates reveal that the game is underway.

According to Techradar's report, an unnamed source close to Rockstar revealed that the game developer has started the preliminary work on "GTA VI" but still has to decide on the game's setting. The publication also learned that Rockstar initially planned to make "Grand Theft Auto: Tokyo" and that the company even made trips to Japan to get a feel of what the area is like.

Rockstar was reportedly "serious" about this project but Japan's road system was one of the main problems the company had to deal with. In addition, the source said that over time, the developer realized that bringing the franchise out of the United States can also be difficult.

Meanwhile, Rockstar is reportedly developing a new engine since it posted a job ad looking for people to work on next generation systems. Rumors are rife that "Red Dead Redemption 2" could be released this year and this game is believed to be the first to run on the new engine. If "Red Dead" won't use this new engine, it's likely that "GTA VI" will.

At this point, it's hard to predict a release date for "GTA VI" but some media outlets suggest that it should be ready by 2018, judging by "GTA's" release date patterns. There are also reports saying that the game will be available by 2018 because of the game size.

No one knows at this point, but it's expected that more rumors and speculations about the game will come. In the meantime, fans should still take the abovementioned information with a pinch of salt until Rockstar makes the official announcement regarding "GTA VI's" development.