For many years, Grand Theft Auto VI was the worst-kept secret in gaming. The forthcoming open-world crime game was only officially confirmed to exist in January 2022, nine years after the release of the previous franchise entry, GTA V. Even then, details about the game were scant. Where would it be set? Who were the protagonists? Leaving aside a high-profile leak of in-development footage in September 2022, fans had to subsist on educated guesswork.
Last night, the trailer for GTA VI made its way online – first as a leak, then, shortly after, on the official YouTube channel of Rockstar Games. Slick, eye-catching and raucously over-the-top, the 90-second advertisement confirmed a number of longstanding theories orbiting the game, while withholding many of the specifics – more than anything, this was selling looks and vibes. At the time of writing, the trailer has amassed a staggering 70 million views on YouTube, just 15 hours after debuting; we’re in record-smashing territory here. It’s no exaggeration to say that GTA VI will almost certainly be the biggest media release of the decade; in an era when pop culture has diffused and splintered, this monolith stands untoppled.
