The GTA 6 Trailer Was Released One Year Ago Today, And Fans Are Still Waiting For Anything More

Today, December 5, marks the one year anniversary of the first Grand Theft Auto VI trailer. In the year since, Rockstar Games has not released any additional videos or images, while parent company Take-Two has shared precious few words and updates on the long-awaited open-world game.

Some were–and currently still are given it’s still December 5–expecting Rockstar Games to celebrate the anniversary by releasing a second trailer or providing any further information about the game. Fans thought they spotted clues in the latest GTA Online updates. But nothing has materialized thus far–the day is young, though, and Rockstar still has time to make some kind of GTA 6 announcement if it wants.

Here’s a quick look back at the original GTA 6 trailer announcement and what’s been said about GTA 6 in the past year, in the absence of any new details or footage of the game.

Trailer 1

On December 1, 2023, Rockstar Games announced that it would release the first GTA 6 trailer at 9 AM ET on December 5. In reality, though, the trailer leaked early in less-than-HD, prompting Rockstar Games to shift plans and release the trailer officially on December 4. The impressive trailer showed the sights and sounds of Vice City, a stand-in for Miami, and the same setting from 2002’s GTA: Vice City. The trailer had lots of surprises and Easter eggs and story clues about the two main characters.

Set to the Tom Petty song “Love Is A Long Road,” fans theorized that the lyrics–which are about people falling in love and then screwing it up–might suggest where the story goes. No one knows, but the trailer’s focus on two people–a man and a woman–backs up previous reports that GTA 6’s story would be a Bonnie and Clyde-style narrative about two bandits on a crime spree and the law’s pursuit of them.

Where’s Trailer 2?

If Rockstar Games follows a similar playbook to Trailer 1, fans can expect the studio to first announce when Trailer 2 is coming, and then release it at a later date. That being said, GTA 6’s first trailer leaking early might have prompted a change of course for Rockstar as it relates to trailer launches. But a second trailer is definitely coming at some point. Rockstar’s cinematic game trailers are historically very impressive, and everyone expects that trend to continue. Beyond story trailers, Rockstar is likely to eventually release more in-depth gameplay trailers and other videos about the game’s systems and features, all in the interest of driving hype and encouraging people to buy the game right at launch.

Releasing a second trailer before the end of 2024 would absolutely please fans, but there is no indication that it could happen. Some have theorized that Rockstar might release the next GTA 6 trailer during Geoff Keighley’s The Game Awards on December 12. After all, Rockstar is on the event’s advisory board, but that alone doesn’t mean anything. Others have pointed out that Rockstar doesn’t need a venue like The Game Awards to showcase GTA 6, and doing so–amid a flurry of other game reveals and announcements–could take away from having an entire day dedicated to GTA 6. The Game Awards takes place on December 12, so we will find out soon enough how it all shakes out.

As mentioned, GTA fans continue to believe some GTA Online trailers contain clues about the next GTA 6 trailer. Nothing has come of this as of yet, though, but it demonstrates how hungry people are for new information about GTA 6.

What’s been said about GTA 6 in the past year?

In February this year, Rockstar Games confirmed that most staff would be required to return to the office five days a week in an effort to beef up security (following a massive leak in 2022) and to help with efficiency to get the game out the door on time in 2025. The report also said GTA VI was in the final stages of development as of early 2024.

Some Rockstar staff took issue with this plan, which went into effect in April, with a labor union saying Rockstar management has provided no evidence that working from home poses a security risk or might negatively impact productivity.

An anonymous Rockstar employee told the union that working from home has been “a lifeline for many of us at Rockstar.” Another employee said, “This will mean missing out on spending time with our families. I am also aware of colleagues who have health issues preventing full time office work who are now left in limbo.”

Another big development for the entire games industry in 2024 was the SAG-AFTRA video game actor strike, which began in July and remains ongoing. Some wondered if this could prompt GTA 6 to get delayed to 2026. While there’s always a chance, games that went into development prior to September 2023 are unaffected by the strike. This means GTA 6 is pushing ahead amidst the strike.

Then there’s the question about how much GTA 6 might cost. Take-Two was among the first major publishers to increase prices for top-line games from $60 to $70, and some believe Rockstar might push things further with GTA 6 and potentially charge even more. There is no evidence that this could happen, though, and many have observed that Rockstar could find other ways to drive up the average selling price through things like special-editions and in-game monetization, among other things. It seems almost a guarantee that GTA 6 will have a GTA Online mode given how popular and lucrative it was for GTA 5. But it remains to be seen what could happen to GTA 5’s existing GTA Online mode when GTA 6 launches.

Also in 2024, analysts and experts discussed how GTA 6 (and the Switch 2) could help the video game industry rebound in 2025 following a challenging year. “The anticipated first-half debut of Nintendo’s next generation hardware platform should provide a significant boost, as should the launch of Grand Theft Auto VI, which may just become the biggest entertainment launch in US history,” Circana’s Mat Piscatella said.

In the absence of real, official news about GTA 6 in 2024, stories emerged from the sidelines, and that included fiery commentary from Martyn Ware of the group Heaven 17. Across a series of social media posts, Ware said Rockstar offered him $7,500 to use his 1983 song “Heaven” in GTA 6. Ware said this offer was “pathetic” and told his legal team to respond with, “Go f**k yourself.”

Another piece of GTA 6 news in 2024 came from Take-Two boss Strauss Zelnick, who commented on how the game could perform on the Xbox Series S, which is a lower-spec version of the Xbox Series X. GTA VI is expected to be a boundary-pushing game technically speaking, prompting concerns by some that it won’t be a great experience on the console.

“Look, we support the platforms where the consumers are for as long as they’re there, and we find a way to support platforms despite different levels of tech. Our labels are really good at that. I’m not really worried,” Zelnick said.

The executive went on to say, “If one platform diminishes in value, there’s always another one. So we’re seeing great growth in PC right now, for example.” GTA 6 has not been announced for PC, however, though many are expecting it to come to PC… eventually.

Lastly, although GTA 6 isn’t even out yet, it’s already winning awards. The game recently took home the “Most Wanted Game” award at the Golden Joysticks, and in an acceptance speech, a developer teased “absolutely mind-blowing things” to come from the game.

“There’s an incredible amount of people doing amazing things on Grand Theft Auto 6. Absolutely mind-blowing things so it’s a real honor to be able to come up here and accept this award on everyone’s behalf,” the developer said. GTA 6 is up for a similar award, Most Anticipated Game, at The Game Awards on December 12.

Will GTA 6 be delayed again?

GTA 6 is officially set for release in Fall 2025. Parent company Take-Two has committed and re-committed to that date, and there is no evidence the game could slip to 2026. That being said, early Rockstar title in the past 10+ years has been delayed, so it would be out of the ordinary if the game is not delayed. It’s entirely possible GTA 6 has already been delayed internally, as some previously theorized it would launch earlier in 2025. But in terms of publicly announced delays, GTA 6 has never had one, and that stands apart from GTA 4, GTA 5, Red Dead Redemption, and Red Dead Redemption 2, all of which had at least one publicly confirmed delay.

Take-Two boss Strauss Zelnick said GTA 6’s release date doesn’t really matter because of the hype behind it, but he also acknowledged that releasing in the fall season in 2025 might help the game even more as people do their holiday shopping.