SAN FRANCISCO (AFP) - The maker of the notorious Grand Theft Auto video game franchise announced on Friday (Feb 4) that a new edition is under development, confirming long-bubbling speculation.

New York-based or how it will be different from the previous edition of the game released in 2013 to blockbuster sales.

"We're pleased to confirm that active development for the next entry in the series is under way," the studio's subsidiary Take Two Interactive said in an online post.

More than 230 million copies of Grand Theft Auto, referred to as "GTA" have been sold overall.

An online, multi-player version of the game boasts a large and devoted community of fans, some of whom took to Twitter to express delight at the news along with jibes that Rockstar might not deliver the new game for years.

One fan of the game tweeted a photo of three elderly men hunched over a video game controller, joking it would be him and friends when GTA 6 is finally available.

A tweet from the account @robertyoushock focused on Rockstar saying the new game is well under way.

"This same language was used in June 2012 in regards to GTA V," the tweet read, noting it took 14 more months for the game to launch.

The GTA franchise in which players take on the role of a criminal has been criticised for glorifying law-breaking, violence and abuse of women.

"This could be the GTA to end all GTAs!," read a tweeted reply to Rockstar from the account of self-described e-sports commentator and game streamer @nathanias.