Rockstar Games broke the internet by releasing the GTA 6 trailer. While the trailer was released earlier than scheduled due to it being leaked, the impact was bigger, if not the same as the trailer took the internet by storm and garnered 36 million views in a matter of 4 hours. The impact was so massive that even the Take-Two stock price rose. The game is set to release in 2025 for PS5 and Xbox Series X/S.
The trailer showcased the return of Vice City, in the state of Leonida, which are fictional representation of Miami, Florida. The locales shown ranged from the sunny beaches to the swampy Everglades. Most importantly, we got our first look at Lucia, the first female protagonist of the series, and her unnamed male compatriot who seems to be going on a journey reminiscent of Bonnie and Clyde.
The GTA 6 trailer also showcases several new aspects that the game is getting including a new Fan Boat. However, beyond the obvious, Rockstar is known to hide subtle hints in their trailers which may range from release dates to references and the GTA 6 trailer is no different. Let’s take a look at the new features and easter eggs spotted in Rockstar Games’ biggest trailer yet.
GTA 6 features spotted in the trailer
GTA 6 seems to be repeating what previous GTA titles did, that is, revolutionizing what the series is capable of, bringing more and more real-life concepts in parodied form. Rockstar is famous for creating parodies and mocks of the current trends and putting them in their game in a hilarious way. These parodies often give rise to new features which there were a lot of in the trailer. Here are the new features that have been spotted in the GTA 6 trailer.
Vice City and the state of Leonida
GTA 6 is based on Vice City, a fictional city previously seen in the titular GTA Vice City. It is a representation of real-life Miami. Vice City seems to be based in the fictional state of Leonida, a nod to Florida, a state of the United States of America, with Miami at its helm.
Move over Florida Man! Leonida Man will be all over the headlines when GTA 6 arrives in 2025. Rockstar describes the state, which is home to Vice City, as “the biggest, most immersive evolution of the Grand Theft Auto series yet.” pic.twitter.com/3VYcdsFazq
โ IGN (@IGN) December 5, 2023
Social Media
Social media is a big part of the current era and Rockstar did not hesitate to put it in their blockbuster title. There are several nods to the platforms being similar to several real-life counterparts due to their user interface and general looks.
There are multiple instances in the trailer that show social media platforms similar to Twitch and Instagram Live, suggesting that social media might just play a role in the game and its story. The fans can see several “channels” live streaming various things to the Social Media in the game.
New physics
GTA 6 trailer showcases the brand new physics in the game, thanks to the upgrade of the physics engine in RAGE. A scene is shown where Lucia is seen standing in a roofless car with her hair due to the wind. This kind of hair physics is only previously seen in Rockstar’s previous title, Red Dead Redemption 2.
There are also scenes where we see a lot of bodily physics, which is nicknamed “jiggly physics” by the gaming community, namely in the scene where a woman is seen twerking on the roof of a car and another instance that shows the strip club.
GTA 6 features next level hair physics, reflecting different types of hair and hair styles, that even interacts with wind simulation.
(via Visual Fidelity) pic.twitter.com/Lbej2Mvd9A
โ GTA 6 Trailer Countdown โณ (@GTAVI_Countdown) December 5, 2023
There is also a highly visible improvement to the water physics of the game as seen at the beaches and the the boats tearing through the ocean.
Nightclubs
Nightclubs, or rather, the Malibu Club were a major plot point in GTA Vice City. GTA 4 upped the ante in its Ballad of Gay Tony by letting you become a Nightclub manager, known as the Maisonette 9. GTA Online takes it up a notch by letting you own a nightclub, having a DJ play at the said club, and even letting you dance at your club.
GTA 6 seems to be bringing GTA Online’s concept of nightclubs to GTA 6, with a DJ seen playing in the game and several leaks showing a nightclub in the offline story mode of the game. Knowing that GTA 6 is based in Vice City, the fans might see a massive return of the Malibu Club from Vice City.
Lucia, the first female protagonist
The trailer for the game opens up with Lucia in a prison facility, being asked why she was there. She is the first female protagonist in the GTA series and seems to be of Hispanic descent.
She is set to team up with a yet-unnamed male protagonist, who seems to be her partner in crime and is suggested to be her lover. Their dynamic follows the same of Bonnie and Clyde, the infamous robber couple.
GTA VIโs Lucia
The first ever female protagonist in GTA pic.twitter.com/vid2xF0vLR
โ Synth Potato๐ฅ (@SynthPotato) December 4, 2023
The Everglades
Since Leonida is the fictional representation of Florida, Rockstar is also bringing the Everglades into the game. While they may not share the same name, the similarities are very visible. We see a fan boat gliding through the swampy waters of the Everglades and another shot of Flamingos flying and resting over in the swamp waters.
There might be an even bigger portion of the swamps of Everglades in the game as the leaked map suggests a total play size that is at least double that of GTA 5.
Car, Lowrider meets, and Street Racing
Lowrider meets made their debut in GTA San Andreas as a side mission, where the player has to make the cars dance to a rhythm. GTA Online upped the stakes with Los Santos Car Meets, a location, and event where players can bring their blinged-out rides to showcase, drive, drift, and just have fun.
Car meets became a regular thing in GTA Online, with players making their own car meets in lobbies and Rockstar seems to be bringing this feature to the offline mode as well.
Freaking hell! GTA 6 will even have those car meets and sideshows! ๐๐๐ #GTAVI pic.twitter.com/8ls5TfvksK
โ Hunter C. ๐บ๐ธ๐บ๐ฆ๐ณ๏ธโ๐๐ฎ๐ฑ๐งฏ๐จ (@IndictmentTime) December 5, 2023
There seems to be an underground street racing scene as well, as showcased in the trailer, which the players will probably be able to become a part of. Two more racing scenes in the game seem to be a Bike/Dirt Bike racing scene and an Offroad scene.
Improved Strip Clubs
Rockstar Games has always been known to put adult content in their games, hence giving GTA its mature rating. Strip clubs have been a part of GTA since the beginning with GTA San Andreas making them enterable and interactable. GTA 4 and 5 even let you get private dances from the strippers.
GTA 6 seems to have made it even more immersive with not just strippers but other entertainers joining the fray, as seen in the trailer where a woman was seen carrying multiple sparklers and drinks. The scene also showed yet another instance of the new and improved “jiggle physics”.
New wildlife
Wildlife became a part of the GTA series with GTA V with many herbivores and carnivores that the players could hunt and be hunted by. It is safe to assume that nearly all of the species seen in GTA V will be making a return in the new game along with its own additions.
- Alligators
- Flamingos
- Chihuahuas
- Iguanas
- Seagulls
- Dolphins
- Cranes
These are just some of the new species spotted in the trailer and there will probably be more to fill the vibrant state of Leonida. These animals do not just appear in the wild but in the city as well, as there was a scene of a massive alligator entering a building, captured on CCTV.
Offroading and new mud physics
In a shot of the trailer, the fans can see people bathed in mud, with lifted offroading vehicles in the background suggesting a new Off Roading scene in the game. The presence of the Everglades might even support this.
A Thrillbilly mud club is confirmed! #GTAVI pic.twitter.com/jBJcTQpGED
โ GTA 6 X Media (@GTA6XMedia) December 5, 2023
The vehicles seen had bigger tires, equipped with off-roading trends, and were covered in mud with a Monster Truck in the background in a stunt jump.
Story-based relationship
Lucia and her male companion, who is called Jason according to leaks, seem to be in a relationship stemming from their being partners in crime. They are shown robbing a store together, escaping the cops, and then in a room where Lucia is mounted on top of Jason, suggesting a deeper romance between the protagonists.
Jason and Lucia in GTA 6 are a hot af couple… This is Vice City love โค๏ธ๐ด #GrandTheftAuto #GTAVI #ViceCity #GTA6 #RockstarGames pic.twitter.com/2RehHAUFIl
โ SpectreSaunders (@SpectreSaunders) December 5, 2023
Previous leaks have suggested that GTA 6’s story might even be affected by the relationship between the protagonists, giving players a massive plot point to control based on choices.
These are some of the biggest features we saw in GTA 6’s trailer and this is just a sneak peek. Rockstar usually reveals a ton more in their gameplay trailers and the hype has just increased. GTA 6 is set to be one of the biggest launches of the decade, with the game easily dwarfing every other Rockstar release previously.