GTA 6: What we know about Rockstar's next crime adventure

GTA 6 had been a rumor for years—an inevitable rumor, considering that the last one made basically infinite money—but those murmurs were finally confirmed in December 2023, when Rockstar officially revealed Grand Theft Auto 6 to the world. And because nothing with GTA can be entirely uncomplicated, it was a reveal that came earlier than planned, with Rockstar unveiling the GTA 6 debut trailer a day ahead of schedule thanks to an early leak. However we got our first look, we now know when to expect the sequel: GTA 6 will release in 2025. On console, at least.

Still a bit of wait, then, and Rockstar certainly doesn't need to hurry. GTA Online is still crushing it a decade after release to the tune of nearly half a billion dollars a year. So don't hold your breath waiting to get a full look at GTA 6: Rockstar doesn't like to rush for anybody. Until then, we'll be here collating any and all info that bubbles to the surface, even the wildest moon-based GTA 6 rumors. Here's everything we know about GTA 6.

When might the GTA 6 release date be?

We don't have a release date for GTA 6 yet, but now we know that it's coming sometime in 2025. The big question at this point is platforms: Yes, it will undoubtedly come to PC (see more on that below) but whether our version will launch simultaneously with the console release, or if we'll have to wait several months (or more) as we have with previous Rockstar games remains to be seen.

What's in the GTA 6 reveal trailer?

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The first GTA 6 trailer doesn't dive deep into details about the game, but it does seem to confirm a lot of what was previously rumored, including a "Bonnie & Clyde-inspired" criminal duo as the lead characters in the game, and a Florida-like setting in the GTA universe's equivalent: the state of Leonida. Both of those details came to light through earlier leaks.

Other signs of a Florida-inspired setting include an airboat that's briefly visible in the early stage of the trailer, and those flamingos and night-time shots of the city, both of which look like direct lifts from Miami Vice. (Which I admit makes up pretty much the entirety of my knowledge of Florida.) A less obvious tell is the song in the trailer, Love is a Long Road by Tom Petty—a native of Florida.

Portions of the video also emulate Instagram and TikTok-style social media posts, which could provide some interesting gameplay twists depending on how (or if) the social mechanic is integrated into the game, and of course there's an abundance of nice cars, scantily-clad women, glitter and grime, and bad behavior throughout. It is definitely a Grand Theft Auto trailer.

GTA 6 story and characters

What do we know about the GTA 6 story?

While we've gotten a reveal trailer, we're still light on confirmed GTA 6 details. Based on what we've seen—and info gleaned from rumors and leaks—it seems like GTA 6 will feature dual protagonists, following a criminal couple in their Bonnie & Clyde-style lawbreaking.

Beyond that, we're still in speculative territory, and don't worry: People are speculating. Already, there's a fairly prominent story theory that started circling in the aftermath of the GTA 6 reveal. The trailer begins with Lucia—one of our two heroes—in prison, before showing glimpses of her and her partner undertaking robberies and car chases, presumably after her Lucia's release. However, after spotting an ankle bracelet on Lucia in the game's official key art, some internet conspiracists think the events in the reveal trailer are actually playing out in reverse—that the shots we see of the partners in crime are showing what gets Lucia incarcerated.

Interesting implications, particularly when considering how the trailer shows Lucia and her boyfriend committing to trust. Perhaps a kind of "Chekhov's pinkie-swear," if you will.

What do we know about GTA 6 characters?

While the GTA 6 reveal trailer shows plenty of colorful characters in a... let's say, "distinctly Floridian" flavor, we still don't know much about the game's primary cast, aside from the confirmation of its protagonist partners. Its couple in crime. Its lovebirds in larceny.

Here's what we've got on the characters in GTA 6:

Lucia

Half of GTA 6's protagonist power couple, Lucia makes an important mark in the Rockstar record book as the first female lead in the series. And based on the reveal trailer, she's doing a lot of leading: She's the first face we see, she's the only one named, and in the closing shot, she's the one kicking the door in to kick off an armed robbery.

Aside from a glimpse of Lucia in prison, we don't know much about her in-game circumstances yet, or even if the game takes place before or after her incarceration.

Lucia's boyfriend, who may or may not be named Jason

Okay, listen, we don't know anything about GTA 6's other protagonist yet. While he was referred to as "Jason" in the 2022 leaks, Rockstar hasn't actually confirmed his name yet. But while we're short on specifics, we can at least confirm here that the alleged Jason is capable of operating a motor vehicle, and is known to possess and occasionally wear a shirt. Stay tuned for more!

GTA 6 setting

What will the GTA 6 setting be?

Everything flows from Rockstar's choice of city and decade, and we now know that GTA 6 will take place in modern day Vice City, in the state of Leonida—the GTA universe's parallel reality version of Florida.

Rumors from July 2021 already pointed to GTA 6 returning to Vice City. These claims said that GTA 6 will take place in a modern day version of the series analog for Miami. These same predictions also said that GTA 6's map will evolve or expand over time, possibly through DLC or live game updates. The Miami prediction has been echoed by other sources, as reported by Bloomberg's Jason Schreier.

There's also this from the trailer, which is a very big, pointing finger:

Will GTA 6 release on PC?

Will GTA 6 come to PC?

It's a pretty safe bet. Rockstar's past with PC versions has been a bit erratic, but the immense popularity of both GTA 5 and Red Dead Redemption 2 on PC is a great reason for Rockstar to take the platform seriously.

And it seems like Rockstar feels the same, considering it released the Rockstar Games Launcher on PC in 2019. It's hard to believe the studio would release its own games launcher if it didn't plan on hosting its future games there, including GTA 6. That said, we can probably expect a gap between the release of GTA 6 on consoles and PC. It took GTA 5 a year and a half to come to PC, and RDR2's gap was almost a year as well.

The full announcement for GTA 6 also suggests that the PC version will come later: It says "Grand Theft Auto 6 is coming to PlayStation 5 computer entertainment systems and Xbox Series X-S games and entertainment systems in 2025," but makes no mention of a PC release.

GTA 6 Online

Will there be a GTA 6 online?

Almost certainly. While GTA 5's online Los Santos has yet to run out of gas, with Rockstar still regularly adding new activities, content, and events to its big multiplayer world, it's hard to imagine GTA 6 would skimp on a multiplayer offering. Given that GTA 4, GTA 5, and both Red Dead Redemption games have had online servers, it feels like a must-have for GTA 6.

GTA 6 leaks

What was in the GTA 6 leaks?

The big dump of leaked footage from GTA 6's first major leak may still be floating around, but unless you're extremely interested in picking apart debug footage you aren't missing much. Based on what we'd seen: yup, this sure is a GTA game in the works. It's all older footage and is absolutely internal development stuff, not some sneaky peak at a final, polished product.

Here are the few high points that give us a hint of what to expect in the launch version of GTA 6:

• Two playable characters: Referred to as Lucia and Jason, they are likely the "Bonnie & Clyde inspired" crime duo referenced in past rumors.

• Vice City: Part of the footage includes a modern rail car labeled "Vice City Metro," making the rumors of a return to fictional Florida seem likely too.

• Modern day setting: We've spotted at least one pedestrian with a smart phone, which seems to discount smaller rumors about a possible '80s setting.

No matter how likely they do seem, all the other features we can glean from the footage—Lucia committing a robbery at a waffle joint, dialogue options for playable characters, a character seen moving and crawling while prone, the messaging system called "WhatUp!"—should be taken as subject to change until we see a more representative gameplay showcase from Rockstar closer to GTA 6's release.