More than a decade after launching the Grand Theft Auto 5, Rockstar Games is finally gearing up to launch its sequel, the GTA 6. The company put an end to all the speculations about the game’s fate following an unprecedented leak by giving us our first official look at Grand Theft Auto 6 in a trailer.
There’s still plenty of time left before we can jump into GTA 6 and race through the streets of Vice City, encounter alligators in convenience stores, and just soak in the weird and chaotic Floridian environment. There will be a lot of news, leaks, speculations, and rumors to get through in the meantime, though, and it’s important to keep track of them to ensure nothing flows under the radar.
[March 5, 2024] – Speculated release window leaks added
Release date
When is GTA 6 coming out?
Rockstar hasn’t put a date on the calendar yet, but it has confirmed that GTA 6 will release in 2025. There’s no release window for GTA 6 either, as the company simply says “Coming 2025 to PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S.”
A quick look at Rockstar’s launch activity tells us that it likes to release its games towards the end of the year. Rockstar Games released GTA 5 in September while Red Dead Redemption 2 came out in October. Only time will tell whether Rockstar continues the tradition, but it is safe to assume that GTA 6 may arrive sometime in Q3 or Q4 2025.
The company’s recent job listing, seeking a Russian Localization Tester, also suggests a similar release window. There is no official on any of this, though, so it’s purely speculative at this point.
Trailer
The first GTA 6 trailer was released on December 4, 2023
Rockstar Games released the first GTA 6 trailer on Monday, Dec. 4. The trailer titled “Grand Theft Auto VI Trailer 1” was originally scheduled to show up on Tuesday, Dec. 5, but it was released a day early by Rockstar in response to a leak. “Our trailer has leaked so please watch the real thing on YouTube,” the publisher said in a tweet, linking to its trailer on YouTube.
The premature release, however, didn’t have any negative effect on how the trailer was received by the masses. In fact, it was a happy surprise for the fans who received the trailer a day early. The GTA 6 trailer with a runtime of 1 minute 30 seconds has now been watched over 165 million times on YouTube, smashing multiple records.
Not only did it become the most viewed videogame reveal on YouTube in 24 hours, but it also became the most-viewed YouTube video in 24 hours (non-music), surpassing one of Mr. Beast’s productions. Oh, and it also became the most-liked videogame trailer on YouTube with 8.9 million likes in the first 24 hours alone.
There’s no information about GTA 6 trailer 2 on the interwebs, just yet. But knowing Rockstar Games and its history of releasing game trailers, we don’t expect it to show up any time before December this year. We say that because Rockstar took more than a year to release the second official GTA 5 trailer. It took its sweet time to deliver Red Dead Redemption 2’s second trailer as well, so I won’t be surprised to see GTA 6 getting a similar treatment.
What’s the Song in the GTA 6 Trailer?
The song playing in the GTA 6 trailer is ‘Love Is A Long Road’ by Tom Petty. This particular song, in case you’re wondering, was released in 1989. It’s a part of Tom Petty’s first solo album, Full Moon Fever, and it broke into the top 10 of Billboard Album Rock Tracks. Rockstar Games is known to pick up classic tracks for its trailers and games, and this one for the GTA 6 is no exception.
Platform availability
Confirmed for Xbox Series X | S and PS5
GTA 6 will be available on PS5 and Xbox Series X|S when it launches next year. A PC version hasn’t been announced just yet, but it may launch at a later time, similar to how GTA 5 also arrived on PC a year later.
I don’t expect the game to launch on the last-gen consoles, i.e. PS4 and the Xbox One, though. More and more games have now started ditching the last-gen consoles, so there’s a good chance that PS4 and Xbox One may never get GTA 6.
Price
How much will GTA 6 cost?
There have been some murmurs about GTA 6 costing $150, but I don’t believe them, just yet. I also don’t think Rockstar Games will charge us on an hourly basis to play the game as some rumors had suggested, because, well, that would be absurd. There’s no way to tell how much the game will cost at this point, but I believe you should expect to spend at least $70, which is currently the standard price for AAA games in 2024.
There will be plenty of collectors’ editions and such for GTA 6 at launch for you to splurge on, but the base game with no extras will likely cost the same as the games that we have on the market right now. I won’t be surprised to see special pre-order pricing or other pre-order perks for the game, so keep your eyes peeled for those.
Editor’s note
On that note, I’d like to add that I won’t be pre-ordering Grand Theft Auto 6 myself, and I will wait for early impressions or the Day 1 review to see if it’s even stable and runs well before jumping in. There have been way too many sub-par releases lately, especially from studios that typically handle AAA titles well, so it’s better to keep your expectations in check.
Location and map size
We going back to Vice City!
Rockstar is taking us back to the Vice City for GTA 6, which we previously explored in 2002’s Grand Theft Auto: Vice City. You can, however, expect to see a more modern version of the city this time around, as GTA 6 appears to take place in what appears to be a modern-day setting in the state of Leonida.
The trailer gives us a good idea of what to expect from this new version of Vice City, but only time will tell whether it’s just a bigger version of the original setting or is it actually more immersive with new point-of-interests (POIs) and activities to indulge in. The fans, in case you are wondering, have already started comparing the new locations seen on the GTA 6 trailer to the original Vice City. You can expect to see some returning spots on the new map, but I am hoping for it to be more than just a simple glow-up.
Characters
A Bonnie and Clyde-inspired story?
The GTA 6 trailer introduced us to Lucia — the franchise’s first female protagonist — and her yet unnamed partner in crime. She’s seen spending time with this person who is speculated to be Jason, the male protagonist in the game. They seem to have a romantic relationship, or a kind of Bonnie and Clyde-like relationship. I am sure we’ll learn more about Lucia and her romantic partner in game soon through future trailers, but I am just glad to have a female protagonist in the game after all these years.
Closing thoughts
That’s all there is to know about the Grand Theft Auto 6 for now. Of course, there’s always a new rumor or two floating around the internet about GTA 6, but not all of them manage to my pique our interest. This ever-evolving page will continue to get more details as Rockstar unveils more about the game that are currently under the wraps.
The only thing you need to know about GTA 6 for now is that it’s officially happening, and it’ll be here before you know it.
