Almost a decade since Rockstar Games released Grand Theft Auto V, the iconic developer is readying its much-anticipated follow-up. With the first trailer for Grand Theft Auto VI unveiled and the release date set for 2025, the new instalment invites gamers back to ‘Vice City’, but there is a lot left unknown. From massive GTA 6 leaks to record-breaking trailers, the run into the official release has not been short on controversy. Here, we’ve put together everything we know about GTA 6, covering all bases in the lead-up to the world’s most anticipated video game.
GTA 6 Release Window
As outlined in the first official trailer, Grand Theft Auto VI will be released sometime in 2025. No specific date has been set, however, it does confirm previously held suspicions that Rockstar was aiming for a 2025 release window.
Speculation first mounted in September 2024, when Rockstar Games parent company Take-Two Interactive, suggested in its earnings report for the first quarter of fiscal year 2024 (concluding in March 2024) that a significant milestone in the next fiscal year. At the time, Take-Two’s CEO and chairman, Strauss Zelnick, hinted in an official statement, “We remain confident that we are positioning our business for a significant inflection point in fiscal 2025, which we believe will include new record levels of operating performance”.
When the first official trailer was released in December 2023, in line with the company’s 25th anniversary, it was confirmed the GTA 6 would be hitting shelves in 2025.
GTA 6 Trailer
The GTA 6 trailer confirms the series will be returning to ‘Vice City’ (based on Miami, Florida) with opening visuals showcasing both the city, beaches, and the Everglade region with plenty of alligator wrangling and airboats. There are also scenes of speedboats racing by a dock area, low-riders pulling up to meets, mud trucks, sportbikes, strip clubs, superyachts, cargo ships in the ocean, seaplanes, and blimps.
Rockstar is clearly saving all the good stuff for later, but the trailer does give us a peek at the vibrant new city life, its beaches, NPCs, wildlife, things to do, and places to explore. While nothing was revealed story-wise, Grand Theft Auto VI is set to feature a brand new female protagonist, Lucia, alongside the male lead Jason, (if leaks are to be believed), and might likely follow a ‘Bonnie and Clyde’ inspired plot.
From the moment the trailer was unveiled, the gaming world went into overdrive. According to Guinness World Records, the new trailer shattered three official world records, amassing a staggering 90.4 million views within a mere 24 hours, setting a new record for the most-watched video game trailer ever.
But the victory lap doesn’t end there. The new trailer also snagged the title of the most-liked video game trailer with a whopping 8.9 million likes, proving its undeniable popularity. Even the internet’s engagement king, Mr. Beast, couldn’t compete with this cultural phenomenon, as the GTA 6 trailer claimed the title of the most-watched ‘non-music’ YouTube video ever, garnering a mind-boggling 59.4 million views within the initial day.
In the trailer press release, Sam Houser, Founder of Rockstar Games said, “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.”
GTA VI Characters
Confirmed: So far we know the name of the would-be protagonist Lucia (pictured above) who first appears in prison wearing inmate clothing at the beginning of the trailer. She’s later joined by her partner in crime who remains unnamed in Trailer 1.
Unconfirmed: There are teasers of what could be a secondary character called ‘Rudy’ with one of the game’s social media accounts ‘YoMammazJammer’ writing a caption “RIP Rudi – C U in heaven, cuz.’ and a video of a shirtless man with a red flag around his neck riding on the side of a modified pick-up truck. This could hint at a potential second character-based storyline that’s related to the ‘High Rollerz Lifestyle’ which seems to involve rap music ‘Vice Vinyl’ and an account titled ‘@HighRollerzMag’.
You can see a #rideoutcustoms sticker on both the custom pick-up truck and the Chrysler 300 SRT vehicle in the shot with the High Rollerz Lifestyle watermark.
Potential Themes and Storylines in GTA VI
From the trailer, it seems the Lucia-based storyline will follow a ‘Bonnie and Clyde’ formula with gas station robberies, hold-ups, and plenty of running from the police. It’s unclear how this storyline links up to those other themes seen in the first trailer, including the ‘High Rollerz’ and social media accounts featured throughout, but if we were to follow the GTA 5 formula we’d expect the upcoming trailers to hint at alternative character-based storylines.
We see the city name ‘Leonida’ mentioned plenty of times throughout the trailer which indicates this is likely the ‘Los Santos’ equivalent. This includes the shot where a tattooed man’s face appears on-screen with the headlines translating to “CONFESSION WRITTEN IN INK (FOR TATTOOS): A tattoo on his neck that betrayed himself, key to the conviction of a man from Leonida.”
GTA VI Vehicles
The trailer showcases several returning vehicles to the game, including:
- Bravado Banshee 900R
- Declasse Tulip (driven by Lucia in the trailer)
- Grotti Cheetah Classic
- Pfister Comet S2 Cabrio
- Gauntlet Hellfire
- Schafter V12
- Coquette D10
- Benefactor Dubsta
- Albany Cavalcade
- Annis Hellion
- Comet Retro Custom
- Nagasaki Outlaw
- Willard Faction Custom Donk
- Vapid Sandking XL
- Virgo Classic Custom
It also adds several new vehicles that appear to represent:
- 2023 Chrysler 300 SRT
- 2023 Audi Q7
- 2023 Lamborghini Aventador SVJ
- 1990 Ford Mustang Foxbody
There are also plenty of Lowriders and what seems to be new custom vehicles as part of the ‘Thrillbilly Mud Club’ with big American pick-up trucks lifted on monster truck-style wheels and tires. If you look closely you’ll also see several ATV vehicles in the background.
GTA VI Development and Leaks
The highly anticipated sequel has been in the works for a long time now and stands out as one of the most remarkable games in video game history. The game suffered a major leak last year which flooded the internet with footage of an early build of the release and various unfinished gameplay, revealing numerous details.
A user by the name of ‘teapotuberhacker’ uploaded an overwhelming amount of GTA 6 footage to the forum, which they argued was from a test build of Grand Theft Auto VI, running with “GTA 5 and 6 source code and assets”.
Bloomberg reporter Jason Schreier substantiated the authenticity of the leaked clips and photos, saying, “Not that there was much doubt, but I’ve confirmed with Rockstar sources that this weekend’s massive Grand Theft Auto VI leak is indeed real. The footage is early and unfinished, of course. This is one of the biggest leaks in video game history and a nightmare for Rockstar Games”.
Despite some conjecture over the validity of the leak, days after it first emerged, Rockstar Games responded, confirming the worst.
“We recently suffered a network intrusion in which an unauthorised third party illegally accessed and downloaded confidential information from our systems, including early development footage for the next Grand Theft Auto,” Rockstar Games confirmed on Twitter. “At this time, we do not anticipate any disruption to our live game services not any long-term effect on the development of our ongoing projects.”
GTA VI Cost
While it may already hold a number of enviable records, Grand Theft Auto VI has one claim to fame that most developers would actively try to avoid. In May 2023, reports suggested the next entry in the Grand Theft Auto franchise might take the cake to become the most expensive video game ever made.
As per Dexerto, Rockstar Games and Take-Two Interactive Software’s highly anticipated Grand Theft Auto VI is heading towards a whopping “USD $1-2 billion” production budget after taking into consideration the marketing costs. GTA 6 suffered a major leak last year, which revealed footage of the game’s early build and loads of unfinished gameplay, leading Rockstar Games to confirm that it is indeed hard at work on the next instalment. But since then the studio has been in a state of complete radio silence about the whole ordeal and hasn’t revealed much of anything.
Video game development costs have seen a massive uptick in recent years, which is partly driven by the increasing complexity and scale of modern titles as well as longer production cycles. GTA 6 is one of the most highly anticipated games of the decade and given Rockstar’s obsession with attention to detail and the complex and expansive nature of its games, there are chances that it could drive development costs even higher. Additionally, GTA 6 has been in development for almost 10 years now and the longer it takes to make the game, the higher the budget will be.
For context, when GTA 5 was released back in 2013, the insane cost of creating it was estimated to be USD$265 million (AUD$396 million). Despite its enormous cost, GTA 5 blew away any and all expectations on its launch day, pocketing over USD$800 million (AUD$1.2 billion) in cold, hard cash, and it hasn’t stopped there. Through next-gen re-releases and the ever-popular and growing GTA Online, the game is still rolling in the green.
As per Take-Two, GTA 5 has brought in USD$7.7 billion (AUD$11.4 billion) as of 2023 and still is a massive money maker for the company. So with numbers like that, it wouldn’t be a stretch to imagine GTA 6 reaching or even surpassing the billion-dollar mark. Brace yourself, folks!
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