‘Grand Theft Auto VI’ trailer drops, flagging 2025 release
THE first trailer for Grand Theft Auto VI hit YouTube in a surprise, ahead-of-schedule post on Monday (Dec 4), promising a 2025 release for the latest instalment in the mega-popular video game franchise.
True to rumors, the latest entry in the Grand Theft Auto (GTA) series will be set in the fictional Vice City – reminiscent of Miami – and appears to feature the first playable female character in the franchise, which has been criticised for its treatment of women, minorities and LGBTQ people.
The early release of the trailer, prompted by a leak online, came on the eve of Tuesday’s scheduled first glimpse for GTA VI.
“Our trailer has leaked so please watch the real thing,” Rockstar Games, the company behind GTA, said in a post on X.
The video zoomed to almost 40 million views on YouTube in just over six hours.
“I feel like this GTA will lean into the absurdity of America much more than GTA V did,” wrote a member of a Reddit forum devoted to spotting references in the trailer.
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“Oh absolutely,” replied another member of the forum.
“Florida is the No 1 craziest place in America, a place where you can get an AR-15 (assault rifle) and a free turkey with a roofing service. I’m so hyped.”
Set to the Tom Petty song Love Is A Long Road, the GTA VI trailer opens with a female character named Lucia being released from prison in what appears to be Florida.
In one scene, an alligator walks in through the front doors of a corner store. In another, a woman in a bathing suit is twerking on the roof of a moving car.
There are also flashes of the usual GTA themes: police raids, car crashes, arrests and illegal car stunt gatherings referred to as “sideshows” in the real world.
Near the close of the trailer, the Lucia character tells her male partner in crime: “The only way we are going to get through this is by sticking together; being a team.”
The pair go on to burst into a store with pistols drawn and bandanas covering the lower halves of their faces.
Fans were quick to infer the scene meant that rumours of a Bonnie-and-Clyde-type crime couple are coming true.
“Major Bonnie and Clyde vibes,” one member of the Reddit forum noted.
“GTA VI continues our efforts to push the limits of what’s possible in highly immersive, story-driven open-world experiences,” Rockstar founder Sam Houser said.
Released a decade ago, GTA V has sold around 190 million copies, said Rockstar-parent Take-Two Interactive, making it the best-selling game in the United States for the past decade based on both unit and dollar sales.
The entire GTA franchise has sold a mammoth 410 million units so far, said Take-Two.
Wedbush analyst Nick McKay estimated that predecessor GTA V and an ongoing, online multiplayer extension of that game have brought in nearly US$10 billion in revenue.
The wild success, however, has come with a wave of controversies.
Critics have accused the series of glorifying violence and encouraging players to engage in criminal behavior – allegations Take-Two executives have denied.
In GTA V, players sell drugs, fight, rob, go on car rampages and more.
Gameplay options also included assaulting prostitutes and going to strip clubs, raising the ire of activists.
GTA V included transgender characters, but “they were sex workers that were grotesque caricatures of transgender women,” said Blair Durkee, associate director of gaming at nonprofit LGBTQ advocacy organisation Glaad.
Videos of players beating those trans characters with baseball bats in the game can readily be found online, according to Durkee.
“We certainly hope that GTA VI will reflect a more inclusive attitude toward LGBTQ characters and players,” Durkee said.
GTA protagonists have historically been flawed but likeable characters in a virtual world “that takes its cues from the craziness of what we read about in the news every day,” said McKay.
The release of GTA V a decade ago came with the launch of an online multiplayer option.
“I can play according to the main storyline, or I can just explore the world and cause mayhem to fill the time,” McKay said.
“Very little is off-limits to the player.” AFP
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