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The first GTA 6 trailer was always going to impress, right? After everything this game has been through already – a 10-year gap (and counting) between it and its last series installment; hype and speculation on a scale unique to this developer's in-progress games; and the unprecedented in-development leaks that surfaced last year – it felt like this trailer had so much riding on it beforehand, that I don't think failure was ever an option for Rockstar Games.
How would failure from a single trailer have been quantified? That's irrelevant – because our premiere peak at Vice City and beyond looks stunning. And even among those who expected the very best from Rockstar's first guided tour behind the velvet curtain, there's a heartwarming and palpable sense of surprise among the prospective GTA 6 community right now.
"Seeing the sunset and hearing the music for the first time in the opening scene, it almost didn't feel real," says GTA Chain Game chief, GTAKid. "After more than a decade of speculation, we got to see a glimpse at the future of Grand Theft Auto and I couldn't be more excited."
Ahead of the game
Welcome to Grand Theft Advent – a month-long celebration of Rockstar's enduring crime sim series. Be sure to check in on our GTA 6 coverage hub for more every day throughout December.
Of course, while the GTA 6 trailer release date was originally planned for 9am ET / 2pm UK December 5, an unfortunate internet leak forced Rockstar to prematurely hit go, some 15 hours ahead of schedule. This is naturally disappointing for everyone involved behind the scenes, but the breakneck nature of the situation lent the trailer drop a degree of extra drama that, for me at least, served to elevate everything we were seeing for the first time. As GTAKid suggests, being shown the vast state of Leonida, being introduced to the central protagonists, and being able to sample some of the series' trademark humor was overwhelming, to the point where it was difficult to take it all in. GTAKid says: "Visually the game looks exceptional, and what particularly stands out to me is the sheer density of the city and how alive it makes the world feel. It's building up to be a game that will impress like no other and keep us entertained for many years to come."
"Now we just need to wait until 2025, but I expect we'll be seeing much more in the months ahead, and I'm already enjoying seeing the in-depth analysis on what we've seen so far by the community."
Ben, aka VideoTech, acknowledges the inevitable disappointment felt by Rockstar itself, and extends that sentiment to the would-be players who planned to settle in for the premiere together. The sense of occasion is robbed from fans and devs alike to a degree in circumstances like these, even if it's easier to stomach when the main event is executed so well. What we saw, reckons VideoTech, just about makes it okay.
"Turning to the game itself, Rockstar has exceeded and gone beyond my expectations," says VideoTech. "I don't think this industry has seen a game title with the sheer amount of attention to detail and visuals in an open-world title like this. The fact that some scenes resemble what would come out of a CGI movie scene is absolutely breathtaking and not expected."
"Even the tiniest details such as glass bottles, boxes, trash, etc have so much attention to them that's not often seen in open-world games. There's no visible poly-edging anywhere to be seen on very minor objects."
For Alessio at GTA Series Videos, the GTA 6 trailer is, quite simply, Rockstar at its very best. "With every new game drop, they're smashing through the limits like tanks," GTA Series Videos says. "The number and variety of NPCs, cars, and activities in all the scenes are off the charts. And considering that the game is an open-world, the level of detail is tremendous, almost mind-blowing. We're talking about seeing the holes in Jason's pierced ear, the tiniest scar on characters' faces, and the hair... video game hair has never been this realistic."
That's a sentiment we shared in our 5 most impressive things about the GTA 6 trailer rundown: the hair physics, as superficial as this particular feature may be, are really impressive. It's worth noting that while the trailer is gorgeous, it is likewise difficult to say much about the game itself at this early stage. But if we are talking about tone-setting at this point, there aren't many series that can drop a single 91-second, cinematically-driven showcase and generate quite as much buzz. At the time of writing, around 16-ish hours since it was first posted, the official GTA 6 trailer on Rockstar's YouTube channel has 72 million views – this, against GTA 5's all-time view count of 97 million from 2011 to today.
Through all of this, many community members reckon we'll be committing another decade to GTA 6 in the years to come. "Holy shit. That blew my expectations out of the water," says Tez. "This is truly the game of the decade, not just the year. The graphics, the detail, and the city atmosphere – everything is mind blowing."
"I was expecting the trailer to blow away my expectations, but I didn't expect it to be blown away ten-fold. The detail, the graphics, the atmosphere of the city and the city scale with its depth. Imagine the roleplay (RP) that would be possible with the game world. This will keep us hooked for the next five or 10 years: early on with the game itself and later on with the RP community."
The next step
It's hard to argue with any of that, and, again, the tangible sense of excitement that's currently buzzing around this game and its community – not just from its dedicated followers, but from global news outlets, mainstream publications, and more – is nothing short of thrilling.
Anyone who's read my words on GamesRadar+ over time will likely already know I'm a longstanding player and fan of Grand Theft Auto, but if this trailer had fallen flat I'd be the first to say so. I have no stock either way whether a massive company like Rockstar thrives or not, but as a player and as someone who's been closely connected to the culture this series has helped perpetuate over literal decades and generations, there's definitely a sense of I was there about all of this right now. It's the start of a marketing drive, sure, but it's also a celebration of what video games can achieve and the joy they can bring people, even when that's contained to a 91-second promotional video.
All of this is reflected in the nuts and bolts of what we've seen so far, as VideoTech suggests: "I also recognise a big update to the NPCs, the character models, and facial animations are a major step up compared to their previous games. It's almost day and night, the bustling streets of Vice City will make this game one of the most immersive experiences in a game. Overall, I am so pleased and so proud of the teams for continuing to push the limits of this industry yet again in new ways we did not think were possible."
And, to this same end, GTA Series Videos adds: "Rockstar is just shutting down everyone. They've nailed it once again."
The GTA 6 trailer reveal proves no one does hype quite like Rockstar Games - is what we said a few weeks ago... did we get it right?
