Rockstar Games released the first trailer for Grand Theft Auto VI on December 4, 2023. It runs 1:31 on the official Trailer 1 page and gave fans their first official look at Leonida, Rockstar’s take on Florida, and at Vice City in the present day.
Below is everything confirmed by Rockstar, plus details that major outlets picked out frame by frame. Where an outlet is guessing, we say so.
What Rockstar confirmed
Rockstar first teased the trailer in a message posted on Newswire in November 2023, ahead of the studio’s 25th anniversary. Kotaku reported that this post came from Sam Houser on November 8.
The trailer arrived a little earlier than planned. GamesRadar reported that Rockstar put it live about 15 hours ahead of schedule after a copy appeared online.
The Newswire post for Trailer 1 set the scene: the game heads to the state of Leonida, home to the “neon-soaked streets of Vice City and beyond”. At the time the release window was 2025 on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S. Take-Two’s press release quoted Sam Houser saying the game aims to “push the limits of what’s possible in highly immersive, story-driven open-world experiences.”
That window later moved twice. The game now launches November 19, 2026.
Lucia takes the lead
The first character on screen is Lucia, dressed in a prison uniform. Asked why she is locked up, she answers “Bad luck, I guess.” Kotaku and GamesRadar both highlighted this opening.
The male lead is not named in the trailer. GamesRadar noted shots that make it clear the two are a couple, with a voiceover about sticking together and both characters saying the word “trust.” Rockstar later named him Jason Duval in Trailer 2.
Places spotted in Leonida
GamesRadar listed location names seen on road signs, news tickers and social posts:
- Kelly County
- Catalan Boulevard
- VCI airport
- Vice Beaches
- Port VC and the Keys
- Districts that appear to be called Stockyard and Downtown
The same outlet spotted the Ocean View Hotel, the first safehouse in the 2002 game Vice City, at around the 34 second mark. It also suggested one shot may show an updated Starfish Island, though that one is a guess.
Vehicles and wildlife
GamesRadar counted a long list of vehicles in 90 seconds: jumbo jets, speedboats, yachts, jet skis, quad bikes, biplanes, helicopters, airboats, cargo and cruise ships, seaplanes, monster trucks and plenty of road cars.
Animals spotted include a chihuahua on the beach, flamingos, alligators, dolphins and sharks. An airboat tearing through a swamp suggests an Everglades style area. Kotaku also noted beaches full of tourists, a strip club and graffiti covered streets.
Social media is everywhere
Many shots are framed as phone videos from an in game social platform. Variety and GamesRadar both described clips of people partying on a speeding boat, a man pulling an alligator out of a swimming pool, and a woman dancing on the roof of a moving car tagged #have.a.vice.day. GamesRadar compared the platform to TikTok; that comparison is the outlet’s reading.
Other clips GamesRadar picked out:
- A “Leonida man” news story, a nod to the “Florida Man” meme
- A memorial post reading “RIP Rudi”
- An older woman holding two hammers, captioned as a neighborhood watch in Hamlet
- Two named groups, the Thrillbilly Mud Club and High Rollerz Lifestyle
- A news report on a dirt bike gang
Outlet theories
These are interpretations, not confirmed features:
- First person view. A burst of police body cam footage made GamesRadar wonder about a first person mode.
- Base jumping. A tall radio tower in an early shot led GamesRadar to speculate that base jumping returns.
- Online nod. GamesRadar suggested that a purple haired, tattooed inmate on the news could hint at the next GTA Online.
The song
The trailer is set to “Love Is a Long Road” by Tom Petty, a track from his 1989 album Full Moon Fever. GamesRadar pointed out that Petty came from Gainesville, Florida, which fits the Leonida setting.
A record breaking debut
According to YouTube, as reported by Variety, Trailer 1 drew more than 93 million views on Rockstar’s channel in its first 24 hours. That set a new record for a video that is not a music video. It passed 120 million views within 72 hours.
Where to watch
Watch Trailer 1 on Rockstar’s Grand Theft Auto VI site or on the Rockstar Games YouTube channel embedded above.
