GTA 5
In a year of incredible releases, it takes a certain amount of power to make your trailer debut one of the most significant events in the video game industry in 2023. But that’s Grand Theft Auto 6 now that it’s announced its first trailer will arrive on Tuesday, December 5 at 9 AM ET.
Everyone is wondering what exactly the trailer will reveal, as there will be many, many more to come, so I went back to look at the iconic GTA 5 debut trailer to remember exactly what it showed off and what it didn’t.
This was released in November of 2011, a little less than two years before the September 2013 release of GTA 5 itself. Given that most people are hoping that GTA 6 arrives within a year after this first trailer by the end of 2024, that would be a very different timetable, and could suggest a longer wait.
The trailer above was almost entirely a showcase of Los Santos and what we would see learn was all of San Andreas, first the pristine nature of it, then a descent into crime and chaos as Michael’s narration changes from his family-based hopes and dreams to the reality of his criminal nature. Though we didn’t quite fully understand all that until after the fact. There are also no indications of GTA Online or what that portion of the game would become.
While Michael is shown briefly, Trevor and Franklin are not, unless I blinked and missed them (Update: One quick shot of Franklin, but you wouldn’t know it). I believe it was revealed a couple days before this trailer that it would have three leads, though the trailer itself did not show that. It also seems unlikely this time around there will be any sort of “pre-brief” of info ahead of Tuesday’s spot. The sprawling leaks for GTA 6 have already done that, revealing the location, Vice City, also shown off in the palm trees of the teaser image for the trailer, but most importantly, the dual lead nature of the game, Lucia and Jason, an apparent couple meant to be a Bonnie and Clyde style criminal duo.
Again, the GTA 5 trailer was more a general overview of the theme and city, and honestly, for being 13 years ago and shown off on consoles two generations old, I still think it holds up pretty well. While I doubt that the GTA 6 trailer will just be a pure mirror of this, subbing in Vice City for Vinewood, I do expect it’s not going to reveal too many specifics.
Another thing the first GTA 5 spot didn’t have? A release date. Or a release window. Take Two has given investors information that next Fiscal Year should see a huge revenue spike for them, so that’s our timeline, this spring through next spring. I am guessing the goal is certainly holiday 2024, but 2025 is certainly not out of the question. Either way, I don’t know if this trailer will give a window or not.
It’s a great trailer, viewed 92 million times now. With the way gaming has expanded in the last decade and how GTA has gone from a hit series to the biggest monster the industry has ever seen, this new trailer is likely to blow way, way past that, whatever it is. Yesterday’s teaser for the trailer has 1.6 million likes and 124 million impressions. It’s just a single image.
So, three more days, let’s see how it goes.
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