Grand Theft Auto VI exists in its own universe

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Four years ago, fans got a long-awaited look at Grand Theft Auto VI with a huge cache of videos that showed off Rockstar’s latest open-world epic. There were 90 videos in total, providing a glimpse at the next-generation take on Vice City, introducing the game’s new dual protagonists, and generally showing off the crime-fueled mayhem the series is known for. The twist? This wasn’t some official reveal. The videos were part of a massive leak in September 2022 that ultimately ended with a life sentence in a secure hospital for the hacker, and they dropped months before Rockstar properly unveiled GTA VI to the world with its debut trailer.

For many video game studios, a leak of that magnitude would be devastating. But not Rockstar: Following the unprecedented success of GTA V, which has sold more than 230 million copies across PC and three generations of consoles, it seems like there is little that can impact the studio in the lead-up to the sequel’s much-hyped launch. GTA VI’s first trailer was leaked less than a day before it was set to premiere in December 2023, and yet the official video went on to garner nearly 290 million views on YouTube.

That’s not all that has happened on the long road to launch. Outside of the leaks, the studio has also been accused of union busting, GTA VI has been delayed multiple times, and the game, which won’t be available on a disc, has been viewed as a worrying sign for the future of physical media. But none of that has done much to slow down Rockstar or the relentless force that is its next game. And next week the hype is poised to reach a new level: A gameplay trailer for GTA VI will premiere on Netflix, available to subscribers six hours before everyone else can watch it on YouTube. It’s a huge marketing coup, and the type of thing only GTA VI can get away with.

The lead-up to the Netflix premiere hasn’t exactly been smooth. Over the last week further leaks have spread unofficial gameplay clips across platforms like Discord and X, and Rockstar has flexed its legal muscles, subpoenaing both Microsoft and Discord in hopes of finding the culprit. This had led to some frustration internally, and potentially changes to how Rockstar approaches security, according to a Bloomberg report. But, once again, it doesn’t seem to have put a dent in the fervor around the game. GTA VI is so big that even small updates, like a cover art reveal, rack up millions of views. And this has allowed Rockstar to do things no one else can. It can reveal gameplay through a mainstream platform like Netflix, and maintain sustained interest in the game despite only releasing two trailers over the span of several years.

“Grand Theft Auto reveals have become cultural moments in their own right,” Netflix exec Brandon Riegg said when announcing the gameplay reveal. “The anticipation and fandom around Grand Theft Auto VI is unprecedented, and we’re honored that Rockstar Games has partnered with us to debut the next part of the Grand Theft Auto story with Netflix members first.”

This mentality isn’t entirely new for Rockstar, but the success of GTA V has allowed the studio to be more confident with how it reveals and launches games, eschewing the traditional news cycle in favor of, well, whatever it wants. Back in 2016, on a random Sunday afternoon, the studio released an image that was simply its logo on a red background. The internet promptly went into a craze, correctly surmising that Rockstar was teasing the next Red Dead Redemption, an open-world Western series that had been dormant for several years. That game, Red Dead Redemption 2, went on to sell nearly 90 million copies, giving Rockstar another blockbuster to fill the gap between GTAs.

Open-world games have become widespread over the last decade or so, but there’s still no developer that renders its virtual worlds with the level of detail and realism that Rockstar does. That’s true whether we’re talking about a fictional version of modern California or the Wild West at the turn of the century. It’s also probably why the studio can get away with taking so long with GTA VI; fans have been given plenty of reason to believe that it’ll be worth the wait.

And that’s why the steady stream of leaks has done little to diminish the hype around the game. In fact, they’re almost serving as a form of marketing; Rockstar may be content with a drip feed of news and details, but anxious fans are eager to soak up every new detail about the game, whether it’s official or not.

Grand Theft Auto VI launches on November 19th, and it’s coming at a challenging time for the games industry. For basically everyone not named Nintendo, things are not looking good: Hardware is getting prohibitively expensive, physical media is dying, major platforms are in a state of upheaval, and ill-placed bets on live-service games have left the industry reeling. There are few signs that things will improve anytime soon. Amid all of that, GTA VI stands apart. It’s a launch so big that nearly every other major publisher and developer is getting out of its way, a game on a scale that has the potential to boost flagging console sales.

GTA VI isn’t a fix for everything ailing the industry, and most of its benefits will be temporary for everyone but Rockstar and its parent company, Take-Two Interactive. There are also still plenty of questions ahead of its release, like what the future for the enduring multiplayer spinoff GTA Online looks like, or whether GTA VI’s satirical slant on Florida will still feel relevant after such a long development cycle. But for at least a few weeks later this year, players can pretend everything is normal while they lay waste to Vice City once again.