Grand Theft Auto VI[6] is an upcoming video game which will be published by Rockstar Games.[7] It is due to be the seventeenth installment in the Grand Theft Auto series, and the seventh HD Universe title of the series. The game's official name was revealed in the first trailer on December 4, 2023, at 6:00PM US Eastern Time.
Plot
The story is expected to follow criminal duo Lucia and her male accomplice, whose name has yet to be officially revealed[4] The game is expected to take place in the HD Universe.[3]
Setting
The game takes place in several counties in the State of Leonida, including Vice-Dale County (home to the neon-soaked streets of Vice City).
To date, three counties have been identified by name via trailers and promotional material. The entire playable area of Leonida has yet to be officially revealed.
Development
The game was first confirmed to be under active development by Rockstar Games on February 4, 2022, with a promise to provide more details in the future.[8] On July 7, 2022, in a further post on their Newswire, Rockstar confirmed that over the past few years, they had steadily been moving more resources and staff "towards the next entry in the Grand Theft Auto series - understanding more than ever the need to exceed players’ expectations and for this next entry to be the best it can possibly be".[9] Development was confirmed to still be active development by two quarterly earnings calls by Take-Two Interactive on August 8, 2022 and May 17, 2023. Take-Two asserted that Rockstar Games was "determined to set creative benchmarks for the series, industry and entertainment.[10] In the May 17th call, Take-Two also confirmed that they were expecting to release a number of "ground-breaking titles" in Fiscal Year 2025 which will "allow us to achieve over $8 billion in Net Bookings", which a portion of the GTA community believed to be a soft confirmation of the game's general release timeline.[11]
With the release of the game's first trailer on December 4, 2023, the game's official name, Grand Theft Auto VI, was finally confirmed.[6] Shortly after the trailer's release, Take-Two Games published their acclamation on Rockstar Games' upcoming 2025 release.[7] Several variants of the game's logomark were trademarked on the United States Patent and Trademark Office website on December 4 and 5, 2023.[12][13]
On May 16, 2024, Take Two Interactive narrowed the release date of GTA VI from Fiscal Year 2025 to the Fall of Calendar Year 2025 in their Q4 Earnings Presentation.[2] This date would be solidified by later Q1 and Q2 Earnings Presentations.[14][15]
Announcement
On behalf of our entire team, we thank you all for your support and cannot wait to step into the future with you!”
The first official announcement for the next Grand Theft Auto title was in February 2022, on the Rockstar Newswire.[8] On November 8, 2023, in a thank you post celebrating Rockstar Games' 25th anniversary, Rockstar confirmed that the first trailer for the upcoming Grand Theft Auto game would be released in "early December" of the same year.[16]
On December 1, 2023, Rockstar further confirmed that the first trailer for the upcoming Grand Theft Auto game would be released on December 5, 2023 at 9:00 AM US Eastern Time.[17] A one-time overlay appeared on Rockstar's official website, featuring palm trees against a sunset backdrop, with the trailer date and time displayed. Subsequent to the trailer announcement, Rockstar Games concealed all previous posts on their Instagram feed.
Trailer 1 release
The first trailer for Grand Theft Auto VI was released on December 4, 2023. The trailer was scheduled for a December 5 YouTube Premiere, but less than 16 hours before Trailer 1's scheduled release, the trailer was leaked online.[18] Almost immediately, Rockstar Games brought ahead the trailer's release, and shortlisted the YouTube Premiere at 6:00 PM US Eastern Time on December 4.[19]
The trailer amassed over 90 million video views within its first 24 hours, making it the second most viral YouTube video of all time.[20]
Controversy
September 2022 leaks
On September 18, 2022, a new user on GTAForums.com called 'teapotuberhacker' posted download links to over 90 videos and screenshots purporting to be of the next Grand Theft Auto game. This apparent leak spread like wildfire across the internet in a single day, with countless news outlets reporting the leak as one of, if not the "biggest in video game history".[21][22][23] The leaked videos showed behind-the-scenes development logs of the next Grand Theft Auto and revealed details such as character and location names. Within hours, Take-Two Interactive issued takedown notices for any sites hosting the videos and/or still images[24] and the GTA Forums threads were removed and/or locked at Take-Two's request.[25] One day later, on September 19, 2022, Rockstar Games released a statement condemning the hacker and promised players that disruption to live game services or upcoming titles was not expected at this time. They also promised to introduce players to the game "when it is ready".[26] Take-Two Interactive also filed notice of the breach[27] with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on September 19.
The hacker's identity was eventually revealed to be Arion Kurtaj, a 17-year-old boy from Oxfordshire who has acute autism and performed the data breach using just an Amazon Firestick, mobile phone and a hotel TV. In December 2023, he was placed under an indefinite hospital order by a judge for being a high public risk as he expressed intent to continue cybercrime.[28] Another Lapsus$ member, who is 17 and cannot be named for legal reasons, was found guilty in the same trial of two counts of fraud, two Computer Misuse Act offences and one count of blackmail. He was sentenced to a youth rehabilitation order at Guildford crown court in Surrey on December 21, 2023.[29]
Trailer 1 leak
On December 4, 2023, less than 16 hours before Trailer 1's scheduled release, GTA VI's first trailer was leaked online.[18] The leaked trailer was a lower quality version of the eventual official release, with the words "BUY $BTC" written in large letters across the footage. Soon after the footage was more heavily circulated, Rockstar Games brought ahead their premiere to 6:00 PM EST later that day.[19] Multiple Rockstar employees took to social media to exclaim their frustrations at the leaks the day after, as well as to celebrate the official release of the trailer.[30] Later on, Strauss Zelnick, CEO of Take Two Interactive, would comment that believed the leak ultimately did not hurt the game's reception or the development team, though it was "disappointing".[31] In June 2024, industry insider Tom Henderson from Insider Gaming reported that YouTube had recently conducted two internal investigations into its employees potentially breaching contractual agreements by accessing backend data. The latter investigation was reportedly conducted "soon after" the Trailer 1 leak, sparking rumors that this incident was the event that motivated this investigation.[32]
Music
On February 25, 2024, the canvas for Anita Ward's "Ring My Bell" on Spotify was replaced with the GTA VI logo, leading many people to believe the song was to be used in the game's second trailer.[33] The change went viral on social media, leading to Anita's management dismissing the claims via Spotify several days later.[34]
On September 7, 2024, Martyn Ware, founder of the English synth-pop band Heaven 17, claimed members had been offered $7,500 each by Rockstar Games to use their hit song "Temptation" in the game, including a buyout of any future royalties earned from the game.[35][36] He later claimed to have made a counter-offer, which Rockstar refused. The post caused outrage online, with many claiming that they "made a bad decision", while others claimed he "did good" by refusing the offer.[37]
Gallery
Artworks
Trailers
Main article: /Trailers
Trivia
- The game features the first voiced female protagonist of the series (previous female protagonists were depicted as silent criminals).
- The game appears to be the first numbered title since Grand Theft Auto III to use the "subtitle version" of GTA's Pricedown logo.
- Following Rockstar Games' confirmation of the release date for the upcoming GTA's first trailer, a number of game studios posted dummy trailer/update announcements on X with almost identical styles, color schemes and release dates to that of the upcoming GTA title's announcement. These included Mediatonic's Fall Guys[38], 343 Industries' Halo[39], and Raven Software's Call of Duty.[40]
- The reveal of State of Leonida in the first trailer retcons the few mentions to Florida in Grand Theft Auto IV by Niko Bellic, Hossan Ramzy, and Weazel News. However, the game appears to be faithfully following the HD Universe's Vice City lore established since Grand Theft Auto IV, in terms of geographical characteristics and ethnic makeup.
- The first trailer also implies that Grove Street Games used assets from Grand Theft Auto VI during the development of Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy - The Definitive Edition in 2021 (e.g. Daewang logo).
- Further textures were later included in Title Update 1.112 by Video Games Deluxe in an attempt to replace/fix previous AI upscaled textures, including a texture asset originally used for Uncle Jack's Liquor in Grand Theft Auto VI, visible in the final shot of the first trailer.[ref?]
External Link
References
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