Grand Theft Auto fans, mark your calendars.
A trailer for the next game in the Grand Theft Auto franchise will drop in early December, offering gamers a first look at the latest entry, GTA maker Rockstar Games said Wednesday in an X post.
The announcement follows a decade of frenzied speculation over the gaming studio’s follow up to its cult-classic game, GTA V, which debuted in 2013. It also comes just hours before the game maker’s parent company, Take-Two Interactive Software, discloses its fourth-quarter earnings. Take-Two shares jumped on news of Rockstar’s planned trailer, rising 7% in afternoon trading to $145.93. The stock has surged 40% this year, driven in part by excitement over GTA VI.
Here’s everything we know about GTA VI so far.
What will GTA VI look like?
A massive cache of pre-release gameplay footage that was leaked online last year, and cited by Bloomberg, appears to provide a glimpse of what GTA VI may offer: a modernized map, new playable characters and fresh gameplay mechanics.
Based on that footage, the Grand Theft Auto series’ latest installment will transport players to Vice City, the same fictionalized version of Miami that serves as the backdrop for Tommy Vercetti’s criminal exploits in the game GTA: Vice City, the leaked footage shows. The gameplay environment will feature modern-looking buildings and cars and will include palm trees and beaches much like the original Vice City map, according to the leaked screenshots.
As for playable characters, gamers will have two options: a male and female character, Bloomberg reported. The inclusion of a female playable protagonist is a first for the GTA franchise, according to The Verge.
Lastly, the game will feature more AI-powered elements, such as non-playable characters, according to Bloomberg.
When is GTA VI’s release date?
Rockstar Games has not yet announced a release date for GTA VI. That said, release dates are never really set in stone, and Rockstar could potentially push back GTA VI’s release, even after setting a date.
In fact, the gaming studio famously pushed back Red Dead Redemption II’s launch multiple times, eventually rolling out the game in October 2019, more than a year after its originally scheduled release date, GameSpot reported.
How much will GTA VI cost?
Rockstar Games has not announced GTA VI’s cost. However, the game house’s last major release, Red Dead Redemption II, sold for $59.99 in 2019.
Games have debuted at higher price points in the years since RDR II’s release. Last year, both Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II and Gotham Knights retailed at $69.99 at launch, according to GameStop.
Why is there so much hype over GTA VI?
GTA VI’s predecessor, GTA V, was a smash hit, racking up sales of more than 185 million copies internationally in the 10 years since its release, The Verge reported. In addition, the game also earned the distinction of becoming the second-best selling video game of all time, according to a 2021 ranking from Hewlett Packard.
GTA V, along with the rest of the GTA series, has become so popular that its influence has even permeated popular music. Hip-hop and rap artists such as Juice WRLD, Machine Gun Kelly, Eazy-E and Denzel Curry have all dropped references to the GTA series in their songs’ lyrics, while some of their music videos appear to take cues from the video games’ fictional cities.
