After years of intense speculation, unprecedented leaks, and rampant rumors, we finally got our first official look at Grand Theft Auto VI. Rockstar released a 1-minute-and-30-second trailer on Monday evening. It established three key facts, which had been rumored but never confirmed: GTA VI will be set in Vice City (the GTA universe's version of Miami). The game will feature two main characters, and the franchise's first female protagonist. It will be exclusive to current gen consoles (PS5 and Xbox Series X/S), and it will not be available to PC at launch.
We also have to wait awhile longer, which was expected, given Rockstar's prior release schedule. Rockstar announced GTA V in 2011, for example, but didn't release it until 2013. Rockstar announced Red Dead Redemption 2 in 2016, but didn't release it until 2018.
And accordingly, Rockstar announced that GTA VI will launch in 2025. That gives us two years. Two years with which to pore over every detail—every nuance in every screenshot and preview footage—to learn all that we can. GTA fans have already begun the Easter egg hunt with the new trailer, earning it a spot in the Guinness World Records for the most viewed non-music YouTube video in a 24-hour period.
Here's what everyone's been saying about GTA VI over the past couple days—the speculation only increases from here.
1. Tom Petty
The song that plays over the trailer is "Love Is a Long Road" by rock singer/songwriter Tom Petty. Released in 1989, the song is a subliminal callback to GTA: Vice City, which took place in the ‘80s, even though GTA VI takes place in the modern day.
2. Vice City, Leonida
Vice City is based on the real-life city of Miami, which is itself situated in Leonida, based on the real-life state of Florida. Based on the road signs in the background, we see that there is a neighboring Kelly County. Later, we see Leonard County law enforcement. And later, on a news broadcast, we see a massive police seal that reads, “Vice Dale County.” So that's three counties revealed thus far.
And it's not all urban cityscapes, because we can see a diversity of locale, including a swampy area populated by a flock of flamingos. Could this be Leonida's version of Everglades National Park? Clearly, the game's map is going to be massive—certainly much bigger than the one in GTA V.
3. Meet Lucia
Lucia is a Latina woman, imprisoned for what she calls a run of "bad luck." She seems sharp and self-effacing—both good qualities for creating a likable protagonist. The stakes are high for Lucia, both in the game and in a larger cultural context; she is the first female protagonist in the history of the GTA franchise, and a woman of color as well.
Currently, the Internet is trying to determine if Lucia and the girl in the string bikini at the pool party are the same woman. They're trying to match birthmarks to make their case, which really says something about the level of detail in this game—that such a thing is possible.
4. Meet Jason
Jason is the second protagonist of GTA VI, and similarly to Lucia, we don't know much about him—only that he and Lucia are partners in crime (based on them sticking up the convenience store), and they seem to be romantically involved (based upon the scenes in the hotel).
Traditionally, GTA games have treated romantic relationships with disdain. The characters in relationships are invariably miserable and antagonistic toward one another, and love is viewed within the storylines as a weakness, which compromises the main characters' judgment and puts them in inevitable danger.
Perhaps Lucia and Jason are doomed lovers, à la Bonnie and Clyde, and one or both of them won't make it out alive by the time the credits roll. But even if that's the case, Rockstar has to make us care about this relationship, so that we feel its loss when it inevitably falls apart.
5. Police Tracker
You'll notice that in the promotional artwork, Lucia has a police tracking bracelet on her right ankle. For many fans, this is confirmation that the story will open with Lucia getting released from prison. Online speculation is that this bracelet will serve as an in-game function, by ensuring that Lucia stays within a certain area of the map (under threat of arrest) until the plot demands otherwise.
6. GTA V Callbacks
If you pause the trailer, you can see a lot of fake product brands on billboards and advertising. Many of these are specific callbacks to GTA V. For example, this character is wearing a T-shirt that says “Righteous Slaughter: Blood Ops.” Righteous Slaughter 7 is the favorite video game of Jimmy De Santa, the son of main character Michael De Santa in GTA V.
7. When Art Imitates Life
Most of the odd scenes in the trailer are taken directly from real life. The woman twerking on the moving car, the crocodile in the pool, the naked man running through the gas station, the man dressed up as the Joker in court—all of these actually happened, and several YouTubers have created compilations, showing side-by-side comparisons. Satire is dead.
8. Hair and Water Technology
A good way of determining the level of detail and technology that go into something is to look at the animation of the water and the animation of the hair. Both of these look especially incredible. Notice how when the flamingos leave the water, they create backsplash and ripples. Notice how the mud has a wetness and stickiness to it. Notice how Lucia's hair moves whenever she turns around to face someone. They're just the tiniest details in a massive mosaic, and cumulatively they're quite impressive.
9. Animals.
We see a wide variety of animals in the trailer, including an iguana, dolphins, sharks, dogs, and flamingos. Red Dead Redemption 2 gave you a compendium that allowed you to track and document all the flora and fauna that surrounded you. It would be amazing if GTA VI allowed you to do the same.
10. Social Media
At several moments in the trailer, we see streaming tickers of different social media apps, which seem to be mainly based on Instagram Live and TikTok. This implies that social media will be central to the experience, and the possibilities for that feel endless. What if a mission has you perform a stunt to go viral? What if you can amass a following and open a revenue stream? And when the new GTA Online inevitably follows, how will Rockstar incorporate social media into the multiplayer experience?
11. Vice City Landmarks
We see a shot of Vice City's strip, and if you peer in the background, you can even see the Ocean View Hotel, which was also present in GTA: Vice City, albeit in a more downgraded form. Later we see Vice City International Airport, which is renamed from its original name in GTA: Vice City, Escobar International Airport. We also see Vice City's beaches, which are crowded with people of all sorts of body types and swimwear. In GTA: Vice City, technological limitations prevented massive crowd scenes. It'll be interesting to see if these types of massive crowds are a regular occurrence in GTA VI, or if it's just window dressing for the trailer.
