Video game’s equivalent of the United States government finally telling everyone that aliens are real and they all live in Arena 51 has happened: Rockstar Games will unveil the first official trailer for the next Grand Theft Auto game at some point in early December. Presumably called Grand Theft Auto VI, the upcoming game is expected to be set in Vice City, a fictionalized version of Miami City, expanding on 2002’s GTA: Vice City’s setting. Finally, GTA 6 is believed to feature the series’ first female protagonist with a male co-lead, reportedly inspired by Bonnie and Clyde.
Not long after reports emerged that GTA 6 will be revealed this week, Sam Houser took to social media via the game’s X account to clear the air: “the next Grand Theft Auto” will get its first trailer in early December.
This marks the end of the nearly-decade-long wait for the next GTA game. GTA V came out in 2013 and has since gone on to become one of the most ported games of its generation, en route to outselling all but Minecraft with nearly 200 million copies sold – and counting. GTA Online, a former feature that has since become a standalone off-shoot, is a key part of GTA’s success, establishing itself as a lucrative venture for Rockstar. It’s highly unlikely that GTA 6 will drop support for GTA Online. If anything, it will expand on it and make it bigger and better.
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— Rockstar Games (@RockstarGames) November 8, 2023
Now, what’s interesting with the “early December” date is that it aligns with the video game industry’s Emmy awards, which were recently delayed due to the Hollywood strikes. Geoff Keighley’s brainchild, The Game Awards on December 7 will see the world premiere trailers of several big games. We can only imagine Geoff Keighley all but begging Rockstar to get the last slot of the event so as not to overshadow any announcement prior, even if it’s the GOTY award for either Baldur’s Gate 3 or The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom. But, then again, this isn’t any other company – Rockstar and GTA 6 don’t need a specific platform to showcase its next project. If Take-Two Interactive and Rockstar wants to get cheeky, it would drop the trailer on the same day and window as The Game Awards, all but ensuring that half the planet has its eyes turned towards GTA 6 – and not Keighley’s event.
As one of the most scrutinized and highly anticipated games of all time, GTA 6 finds itself in a tough spot. On one hand, people will tune in to watch its first trailer, even if it’s in the middle of the night. On the other hand, what if the game is not as good-looking as the earlier leaks suggest? Worse yet, what if it falls victim to yet another leak? Or, what if its “socially aware” humor doesn’t stick its landing? If so, will it be the next game to fall victim to the video game industry’s prevalent cancel culture even before it’s released? Finally, what if Rockstar is just trolling us and announce a remaster of GTA 4 instead?
At the end of the day, we don’t know what to make of the “next Grand Theft Auto” phrase, but all signs point to it being GTA 6.
But, when the trailer is out, don’t expect Rockstar to include a release date. All signs point to a FY2025 release window after Take-Two’s massive profit forecast that went public this year. However, we won’t know for sure until its closer to its launch. The way that we see the “ideal” Rockstar route is that it will be announced for Fall 2024 but delayed by a year to Fallout 2025 with the Nintendo Switch 2 and PC ports coming in Fall 2026. It’s not like there’s no precedence for this, both set by Rockstar and its contemporaries. Of course, the more copium-riddle fans will hope to see Rockstar go all-out and give GTA 6 a specific release date at The Game Awards or at any point next month.
For now though, GTA fans can celebrate the fact that Rockstar finally confirmed that the first teaser trailer for the next GTA game is coming.
