When is GTA 6 coming out? Expected release date and more
Grand Theft Auto is back, and it's heading to Vice City.
GTA 6 - one of the most hyped games in development right now - has officially been revealed by Rockstar Games. Over 12 years after GTA 5 was unveiled, the eagerly anticipated first trailer for Grand Theft Auto 6 was released in December 2023.
Rockstar Games had originally planned on revealing the GTA 6 trailer on Tuesday 5 December 2023, but ended up releasing it 14 hours ahead of schedule after a low quality version of it leaked. The first official look at GTA 6 came after years of radio silence from Rockstar, during which plenty of spurious rumors emerged.
The highly anticipated reveal of GTA 6 broke YouTube records, sending the hype levels for Rockstar's next game sky high. And if you can't wait to play GTA 6, then we've rounded up everything you need to know about it. We've got details on how to watch the first-ever GTA 6 trailer, the release date window for the next Grand Theft Auto, whether it will be coming to PS4, Xbox One and PC, plus much more.
If you want to know what the VG247 team wants from the next Grand Theft Auto game as well, then make sure you check out our GTA 6 wishlist too.
GTA 6 release date
It has been confirmed that GTA 6 has a release date window of 2025. The release date window was revealed right at the end of the first GTA 6 trailer. The trailer ended with the GTA 6 logo being unveiled, alongside the message "Coming 2025".
In terms of when exactly GTA 6 could launch in 2025, Rockstar's parent company Take-Two previously said during an investor's call in August 2023 that they anticipated a big uptick in earnings in the financial year which finishes at the end of March 2025.
At the time, the publisher said it anticipated "record levels of operating performance" during the fiscal year that runs from April 2024 to March 2025. Which previously led to speculation that GTA 6 could launch sometime in that window.
In a later investors call in February 2024, Take-Two chairman and CEO Strauss Zelnick said Rockstar was "seeking perfection" with GTA 6 and it will release when it's been "optimized creatively". While there are signs GTA 6 could launch in the fiscal year that ends March 2025, Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot thinks it could launch later than that.
A report from Kotaku later claimed that the GTA 6 release date could be delayed, with sources claiming development on the highly anticipated title has started "falling behind". Kotaku initially said GTA 6 could slip into 2026, before later updating their article to say the game is aiming for a fall 2025 launch, as opposed to the previously rumored release window of early 2025. In a following article Bloomberg's Jason Schreier said while there is a possibility GTA 6 will slip out of 2025, right now there's "no indication" that anything significant has changed, and "video games are always behind schedule".
Whenever it does end up launching, GTA 6 could not only end up being the most important release in Take-Two history, but the most important release in the history of gaming. That's according to Circana analyst Mat Piscatella, who made the claim in an interview with GamesIndustry.biz.
GTA 6 trailer
The first trailer for GTA 6 was revealed by Rockstar Games on Monday 4 December 2023. The eagerly anticipated teaser clocks in it at one minute and 30 seconds, making it longer than the reveal trailers for GTA 4, GTA 5 and Red Dead Redemption 2.
You can watch the reveal trailer for GTA 6 below:
The first trailer confirms plenty of things about GTA 6. As widely rumored, the next Grand Theft Auto will be making a return to Vice City. It will be the first time the series has headed to this Miami-inspired location since 2006's Vice City Stories. The trailer also unveiled the series' first-ever female protagonist called Lucia. An unnamed male protagonist, who looks to have a Bonnie and Clyde-style relationship with Lucia, was also revealed.
Besides this, the trailer also showcased an in-game TikTok style social network, which not only indicates GTA 6 will have a modern setting, but that social media could play a part in the next Grand Theft Auto.
The GTA 6 trailer was published earlier than originally planned, after a version of it leaked on X, formerly known as Twitter. Not long after the leaked trailer emerged, Rockstar Games set the official teaser live and posted on X: "Our trailer has leaked so please watch the real thing on YouTube".
Despite getting released earlier than planned, the GTA 6 trailer quickly notched up millions of views and smashed YouTube records. Within 24 hours the GTA 6 trailer had been viewed 93 million times, and became the most viewed new game trailer on YouTube.
Discussing the milestone, Leo Olebe, the global head of YouTube Gaming, said: "The Grand Theft Auto series has been at the epicentre of entertainment for decades and we expect the YouTube community and its creators to reach new heights for years to come with Grand Theft Auto 6."
Olebe added: "Setting this new all-time record is a testament to the cultural impact of the series."
As of Friday 12 April 2024, the GTA 6 trailer has notched up over 185 million views on Rockstar's official YouTube channel. It is now the second-most watched video game trailer of all time on YouTube, ahead of Minecraft but behind Subway Surfers.
The record-breaking trailer featured Tom Petty's song 'Love is a Long Road' as the soundtrack, and the song received a massive 36,979% increase in plays on Spotify after the teaser was released. The trailer also appeared to recreate some real-life Florida moments in-game.
This led to one person - the Florida Joker - accusing Rockstar of using his likeness in GTA 6 without consent. After previously threatening legal action, the Florida Joker - whose real name is Lawrence Sullivan - later released a video asking Rockstar for a deal to voice his character. He later went on to say he won't sue Rockstar in a following video.
The original footage of the Florida Joker, which previously went viral, was also briefly shown in a video made by YouTuber Andrew Levitt. The video brilliantly recreated the GTA 6 trailer in real-life.
GTA 6 platforms
It has been confirmed that GTA 6 will launch on PS5 and Xbox Series X/S in 2025. So, if you had been hoping GTA 6 would come to last-gen consoles like the PS4 and Xbox One you'll need to upgrade. This also means that, like with previous Grand Theft Auto games, GTA 6 will not be available on PC at launch.
The reasons why GTA 6 could be skipping PC at launch was discussed by former Rockstar developer Mike York. Eurogamer reported that York, who previously worked on GTA 5 and Red Dead Redemption 2, said PC ports take longer to release because studios have to focus on "what sells".
York said: "Most of the time, especially in the past, PlayStation was the big seller. PlayStation was 'The Console' to have. It sold more copies than any other console for the most part, everybody's playing PlayStation. So, what the developer would do, they would focus all their energy on making sure the PlayStation port and the PlayStation game worked really good, right?"
In terms of other platforms GTA 6 could be available on, it's rumored Sony is planning to launch a PS5 Pro towards the end of 2024. And it's thought the souped-up console is releasing then so it's out in time for the GTA 6 launch.Elsewhere, Nintendo fans may be hoping that Rockstar's next magnum opus will be heading to the Switch 2, especially since the console is rumored to be capable of visuals comparable to the PS5 and Xbox Series X. However, our friends at Digital Foundry said while the Switch 2 specs haven't been confirmed, it would be "very, very tricky" to get GTA 6 running on Nintendo's next console, given what we've heard about the Nvidia chip powering the system.
You can watch the Digital Foundry video where they discuss a possible Switch 2 port of GTA 6 below:
In a separate video, Digital Foundry also discussed how well GTA 6 could run on the PS5 Pro, after specs for the mid-generation upgrade reportedly leaked. While it looks like the PS5 Pro will end up being the fastest console released so far, DF reckons it won't be capable of running GTA 6 at 60FPS, as some had speculated.
You can watch the DF analysis on the PS5 Pro specs below as well, with the discussion about GTA 6 taking place around the 11 minute marker:
GTA 6 location
GTA 6 will be returning to Vice City, arguably the most beloved location of the influential trio of Grand Theft Auto games that launched on the PS2. When GTA 6 launches in 2025, it will also mean all of the locations from these iconic Grand Theft Auto games have since been revisited by Rockstar Games. Liberty City from GTA 3 was the location of GTA 4, while Los Santos from GTA: San Andreas was the setting of GTA 5.
Besides the highly anticipated return of Vice City though, it looks like there will be plenty of other areas for players to explore. In the official GTA 6 press release Take-Two said the next Grand Theft Auto will let players explore the state of Leonida, which is home to the "neon-soaked streets of Vice City and beyond".
GTA 6 map
While Vice City is the main location of GTA 6, it's rumored that parts of GTA 6 will take place in Cuba. This is according to a video posted by Tyler McVicker, a YouTuber known for his leaks about Half-Life makers Valve. The Cuba map is thought to tie into a rumored drug running plotline in GTA 6.
A report from Bloomberg published in July 2022 also claimed GTA 6 will take place in more than one location. And whatever map GTA 6 ends up launching with, it's rumored more cities and missions will get added regularly after launch, with the map getting expanded in a similar way to a live service game that grows and evolves as time goes on. GTA 6’s game world is expected to be bigger than ever, with "more interior locations than previous Grand Theft Auto games" as well.
As we wait to get our first official look at the GTA 6 map, cyber sleuths think they may have actually found the map hiding in the game's official artwork. Even if fans are onto something, we'll have to wait and see whether this is the full map or just a section of it.
GTA 6 leaks
Over the years there have been plenty of spurious rumors surrounding GTA 6, with alleged leaks emerging that turned out to be entirely bogus. But there are some high-profile leaks, and little snippets of information that have emerged like rapper and streamer T-Pain working on GTA 6. One of the biggest leaks to hit the next Grand Theft Auto actually impacted the game's big reveal, with the first trailer for GTA 6 getting leaked 14 hours before it was meant to be officially unveiled. A low resolution version of the highly anticipated reveal trailer was leaked on X, with Rockstar responding swiftly by publishing the official trailer not long afterwards.
A few days before the official GTA 6 reveal, a TikTok video claiming to show the "first look" at the next Grand Theft Auto also went viral. As we reported at the time, the video was posted by someone who claims to be friends with the son of a Rockstar Games employee. There is, however, no way to verify these claims, nor whether the footage shown that went viral is actually GTA 6, or just a heavily modded version of GTA 5.
Prior to these leaks, the most notable leak of them all came in September 2022 when GTA 6 was hit by a massive leak - with numerous pictures and gameplay videos of the next Grand Theft Auto leaking online. The footage that leaked was in-development, and it was published online after a network breach.
In the aftermath of the leak, Rockstar Games took to Twitter to address it. The GTA makers confirmed they had suffered a "network intrusion", and early development footage for the next Grand Theft Auto had been "illegally accessed".
As a sign of support, developers from across the industry went on to share their own pre-release builds to show early development footage isn't representative of what the final product ends up looking like. With leaks hitting the actual GTA 6 announcement and the pre-release build-up, now is a good time to check out Steve Burns' thoughts on what leaking in general can mean for the industry.
Days after the leaks emerged, a teenager in the UK was arrested. The teenager was later sentenced to an indefinite hospital order in December 2023.
GTA 6 protagonist
Since GTA 5 brought multiple protagonists to the series for the first time, it has long been rumored that Rockstar would adopt a similar approach in GTA 6. It was widely expected that the Grand Theft Auto series would break new ground by having a playable female character for the first time in GTA 6, along with a male protagonist.
This was confirmed in the GTA 6 trailer, which revealed the female protagonist is called Lucia. An unnamed male protagonist is also revealed in the trailer, but Lucia gets most of the limelight. Our first look at Lucia comes towards the beginning of the GTA 6 trailer, where we see her in jail talking to a prison staffer. She's asked: "Do you know why you're here?" to which Lucia responds: "Bad luck, I guess".
The next scene featuring Lucia happens outside of prison, midway through a getaway. Our female lead is holding a wad of cash in a car as the male protagonist drives, with police cars seen speeding past them with sirens blaring. Speaking to the male protagonist in a voiceover, she says: "The only way we're going to get through this, is by sticking together. Being a team." We then get a brief scene showing the two characters midway through a robbery and then afterwards in a speeding car, powersliding round a corner as Lucia whoops before cutting to a scene of the two characters in bed. Lucia, continuing what she said before, says: "Trust?" To which the male protagonist replies: "Trust". The trailer then cuts to a scene of Lucia kicking open a shop's door, as the two characters - wearing bandanas over their faces - point their guns towards the inside of the store.
We've only seen small glimpses of what Lucia is like, but it seems like Rockstar is adopting a more mature tone for GTA 6 and its main characters. In her brief bits of dialogue, Lucia comes across as more grounded than her GTA 5 peers, with none of the outlandish traits of a character like Trevor Philips, or being weighed down by the cartoonish family life of Michael De Santa. Which is something I'm all for.
GTA 6 initial announcement
After years of speculation and rumors, it was confirmed that the next Grand Theft Auto game was in development in February 2022. Rockstar Games announced that work on the eagerly anticipated game was underway in a very low key manner, dropping a brief statement on Twitter, and at the bottom of a Newswire post on their official website.
The announcement was only a few lines long, but at least confirmed work is underway on it. Announcing the development of the next GTA, Rockstar Games said: "Many of you have been asking about a new entry in the Grand Theft Auto series.
"With every new project, our goal is always to significantly move beyond what we've previously delivered. We're pleased to confirm that active development for the next entry in the series is underway."
GTA 6 development
Rockstar North, who has made every single mainline GTA game since the franchise started in the '90s, are thought to be the developers of GTA 6. While the development studio looks to have stayed the same, there have been plenty of other changes at Rockstar that impact the future of the GTA series.
In 2020 Dan Houser, who co-founded Rockstar Games and was one of the key creatives behind many of the studio's most beloved games, left the GTA and Red Dead Redemption makers. Houser's departure came a number of years after another key member of Rockstar Games, Leslie Benzies, also left the studio. Benzies was the designer of both GTA 5 and Red Dead Redemption. In August 2023, it was reported that Mike Unsworth, the VP of Writing at Rockstar Games, had seemingly left the GTA makers as well.
These high-level changes are the backdrop to the development of GTA 6, which we first heard concrete whispers about in 2020. At the time, it was claimed development on Rockstar's next major title after Red Dead Redemption 2 was in its early stages. The following year another report emerged about GTA 6, which claimed the next Grand Theft Auto wouldn't arrive until 2025. And then, in 2022, Rockstar at long last announced they were making GTA 6, saying work on the title was "well underway".
Flash forward a few years and it looks like development on the next Grand Theft Auto game is almost at an end. In February 2024, months after the first GTA 6 trailer was revealed, it was reported that work on the next Grand Theft Auto is entering the final stages. According to Bloomberg journalist Jason Schreier, Rockstar has asked all employees to return to the office five days a week starting in April 2024, as the GTA makers enter the final stretch of development for Grand Theft Auto 6. Some employees, however, are reportedly not happy with the decision to return back to the office.
Kotaku, who later reported that GTA 6 could be delayed, claimed one reason Rockstar was mandating workers return to the office was concerns over whether the next Grand Theft Auto would hit its intended release window in 2025.
GTA 6 pre-orders
There aren’t any GTA 6 pre-orders yet, which shouldn't be that surprising. After all, Grand Theft Auto 6 has only just been officially announced, with the release date awhile away. We’ll update this section when pre-order information becomes available.
GTA 6 returning characters
Some fans have asked whether or not GTA 5’s three protagonists – Franklin, Trevor, and Michael – will return in GTA 6. That's kind of iffy, considering they were reportedly supposed to appear in single-player DLC that never materialized. With that, it seems their stories wrapped up at the end of GTA 5.
That's with the exception of Franklin, who appeared in the GTA Online The Contract missions.
However, it's likely that some names and faces from old games will reappear in some way. For example, lawyer Ken Rosenburg represented Tommy from Vice City and CJ from San Andreas. Lazlow Jones pops up in multiple GTA games, but to be fair, he's based on one of the people writing the game's script.
Grand Theft Auto is a series known for its Easter Eggs. Even if older characters don't play a starring role in proceedings, it's very possible you will be able to find some familiar faces hidden around the city.
Looking for more GTA 6 content? Find out how Rockstar Games is embracing modding ahead of the launch of the next Grand Theft Auto. We've also got the lowdown on a Take-Two patent that could hint at smarter NPCs in GTA 6. Make sure you also check out our opinion piece on why GTA 6 needs to break away its past, and usher in a new tone.