The hotly anticipated trailer for Grand Theft Auto VI arrived early, confirming the game will be released on PlayStation and Xbox in 2025. (Graphic: Business Wire)
The hotly anticipated trailer for Grand Theft Auto VI arrived early, confirming the game will be released on PlayStation 5 and the Xbox Series X/S in 2025.
The trailer, which shows just a minute-and-a-half teaser of the upcoming game, was leaked just a day ahead of its planned release, prompting developer Rockstar to make the official announcement ahead of time.
Less than 24 hours after its release, the video has over 90 million views and 700,000 comments, and those numbers continue to climb.
The announcement comes more than a decade after the release of the game’s predecessor, Grand Theft Auto V, released in 2013 – one of the best-selling games of all time and one of gaming’s most prestigious franchises.
The trailer features a couple on a crime spree throughout Vice City, the series’ fictionalized version of Miami, Florida, reminiscent of a modern-day “Bonnie and Clyde”.
The reception to the trailer has been largely positive, despite the revelation that fans would still have to wait at least another year to get their hands on the game.
The footage also confirms the series’ first female protagonist, excluding optional female avatars in the original 1997 game, which has received some pushback from a small subset of gamers.
However, most fans are feeling optimistic with the trailer promising more of the over-the-top violence, crime and general debauchery that the series is famous for.
Each release in the series has been met with considerable controversy over its gratuitous violence, explicit language and sexual content, particularly from the demographic of concerned parents.
In 2014, Australia’s Target and K-Mart removed Grand Theft Auto V from shelves in response to a petition which garnered more than 40,000 signatures.
However, given the overwhelming success of the trailer and of its predecessors, its unlikely that criticism of the game’s content will do much to hamper its sales.
Rockstar Games president Sam Houser spoke confidently about the game in a press release.
“Grand Theft Auto VI continues our efforts to push the limits of what’s possible in highly immersive, story-driven open-world experiences,” said Houser.
Houser went on to say it would be “the biggest, most immersive evolution of the Grand Theft Auto series yet.”
