After ten years, two months, and 14 days (or 3,727 days), Rockstar Games has revealed a look at the next installment in the Grand Theft Auto series, giving fans of these ludicrously successful games something they have wanted for over half that period. The first trailer for perhaps the most hyped and anticipated game of all time came out to much euphoria.
It also confirmed what many thought would happen in the case of the protagonists, with the developers introducing a female (co)lead — Lucia — for the first time in the series. Another development that will no doubt satisfy long-time fans is that it is set in the beloved Vice City, with the trailer playing to the soundtrack of “Long is a Long Road” by Tom Petty.
The two heroes have seemingly embarked on a crime spree, but that's the extent of the storyline information the teaser discloses. What can be confirmed is that the new title has been set for a 2025 release, with Sam Houser, Founder of Rockstar Games, saying in a statement put out later:
“Grand Theft Auto VI continues our efforts to push the limits of what’s possible in highly immersive, story-driven open-world experiences. We’re thrilled to be able to share this new vision with players everywhere.”
For those unaware, Rockstar decided to release the first trailer for its newest game quicker than it had decided due to an emergency, leaving thousands waiting on its scheduled live premier. Its website still asks fans to wait for the premiere at 2 PM today, but several leaks that surfaced online on December 3 and 4 forced the firm to expedite this process and disclose GTA VI’s first look earlier than anticipated (late on Monday night).
With excitement levels at an all-time high, the number of mentions of the game on Twitch went above 20K users daily after December started, with this count going up more than three times to 68K after the trailer dropped. What helped was the likes of HasanAbi, PaulinhoLOKObr, alanzoka, and TheGrefg covering the first-look video and sharing their reactions on air.
Moreover, this new GTA offering will be available for the PlayStation 5 Xbox Series X|S, which parent company Take-Two Interactive had revealed earlier. With no mention of it coming to other platforms, the sixth main installment might skip a PC release at launch.
For readers looking for a little more info, the press release mentioned above also briefly described the game:
“Grand Theft Auto VI heads to the state of Leonida, home to the neon-soaked streets of Vice City and beyond in the biggest, most immersive evolution of the Grand Theft Auto series yet.”
Considering how well GTA V has done over the past decade, ending up as the second-best-selling video game of all time and becoming one of the cornerstones of the gaming content creation era, its successor has a lot to live up to. So far, Rockstar has done a good job with its updates and not bowing to pressure to ensure it comes out with the best possible product for fans who have been waiting years for the next game.
The trailer has already hit 50M+ views on Rockstar's official channel on YouTube, doing so in a mere nine hours. This comes after the trailer announcement for GTA VI became the most-liked gaming-related tweet in X (formerly Twitter) history, getting over 1.8 million likes within 24 hours.
The organization is celebrating its 25th anniversary this month, so it makes sense that such a huge trailer release would be scheduled. While GTA VI has not yet been rated, fans and pundits can assume that it will have at least a 15+ age rating, or an MA15+, as the Australian Classification website decided.
