The release date for the highly-anticipated Grand Theft Auto 6 trailer has finally been announced by Rockstar Games through a tweet. Fans can expect the first glimpse of this much-awaited sequel to drop on Tuesday, December 5, at 7:30 pm IST in India and 9 am ET in the United States. The teaser features an image of a sunset along with palm tree silhouettes, reinforcing previous speculation that the game will be set in a fictionalized version of Miami, reminiscent of Vice City—a beloved locale for long-time fans of the series. This also indicates that Geoff Keighley will not be unveiling the trailer at The Game Awards 2023, although further teasers or screenshots may still be on the horizon.
Details surrounding GTA 6 had been scarce since a significant data breach in mid-2022, which leaked early gameplay footage featuring what appears to be the game’s main characters—a duo named Jason and Lucia—as they rob a diner during daylight hours. Notably, Lucia represents the franchise’s first female protagonist, breaking a long-standing pattern that frequently depicted women in a less favorable light. Furthermore, Rockstar has not officially disclosed the game’s title, currently referring to it simply as the “next Grand Theft Auto,” leaving open the possibility for an unconventional subtitle or spin-off. The excitement surrounding the sequel has been building, with a May earnings call from Rockstar’s parent company, Take-Two Interactive, suggesting a launch window could be targeted for the fiscal year 2025, opening in April 2024.
Recently, Rockstar has also made considerable changes to its online presence, removing the ‘Social Club’ branding from its website and rebranding its multiplayer service as the ‘Rockstar Games platform.’ Alongside this, the studio has eliminated the yellow block from its logo, signaling a new direction as it prepares for the upcoming release. At the time of this announcement, Rockstar had also deleted all previous posts from its Instagram account, retaining only the banner announcing the trailer’s release date. In the meantime, GTA Online has continued to be a significant revenue source for Rockstar, offering an extensive range of multiplayer content that rivals that of many AAA live service games. It remains uncertain if existing Social Club members will see an upgrade tailored for the new game or if they will need to transfer their data to a new account.
As of October, Grand Theft Auto V, released in 2013, has achieved impressive sales of 190 million copies worldwide, benefiting from minor graphical and performance updates to keep pace with two console generations. Recently, Rockstar confirmed that the remastered Grand Theft Auto trilogy will be accessible on Netflix starting December 14, available to all subscribers and playable specifically on Android, iOS, and the Netflix mobile app.
Grand Theft Auto 6 is likely to be released initially for current-generation gaming consoles, such as the PS5 and Xbox Series S/X, before making its way to PC, in line with the trend established by previous Rockstar titles.