Fans around the world flocked Monday to the first trailer for “Grand Theft Auto VI,” the most anticipated game of the decade, due out in 2025.
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This first look at the next installment in the hit series, revealed by Rockstar Games, follows years of speculation about GTA VI’s setting, characters and atmosphere.
What will the game look like?
The action takes place in Vice City, the “city of crime” with its neon lights and dangerous nightlife, rich in breathtaking details – a significant improvement over the graphics of GTA V, released 10 years ago.
It is a fictional version of Miami, Florida, where the 2002 opus “Grand Theft Auto: Vice City” took place.
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The video is based on Tom Petty’s Love is a Long Road and includes everything gamers around the world love – or hate – about GTA: high-speed car chases, scantily clad women and lots of references to social media culture.
Rockstar founder Sam Houser said that GTA VI “continues our efforts to push the boundaries of what is possible when it comes to highly immersive, story-driven open-world experiences.”
What is the biggest change?
For the first time, one of the main characters will be a woman. In the middle of the trailer, Lucia is standing in an orange prisoner’s overalls in a building that looks like a prison.
She is then seen with a man referred to in media reports as Jason. The masked duo enter stores and flee by car to elude their pursuers in a Bonnie and Clyde style chase.
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The introduction of the character Lucia follows decades of criticism of Rockstar over the portrayal of women in its games, particularly their lack of autonomy and the violence and vilification they face.
“It’s a decision worth highlighting and one that other games companies haven’t made in the past,” Esther Wright, a games historian at Cardiff University, told AFP. “Still, the game feels like the GTA that people know and love… It still fits Rockstar’s habits very well,” she added. “We have to wait and see whether the commitment to the GTA brand and player expectations leaves enough room to explore a different perspective.”
AFP
Who can play GTA VI and when?
While players were excited by what they saw from GTA VI, they were a bit frustrated by the announced release date: 2025.
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The game will be released on Sony’s PlayStation 5 and Microsoft’s Xbox Series X and Series S consoles.
There was no mention of a PC version.
How did the fans react?
The trailer quickly became one of the hottest topics on social media. “I got goosebumps,” commented @sachinbhujel909 on YouTube. “We’ve all been waiting for this for a good part of our lives…rest to everyone who has never seen this.”
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Within eleven hours, the trailer was viewed over 57 million times on YouTube. Some are betting she can break the record for the number of views in 24 hours, reaching over 100 million for the music video for K-pop superstars BTS’s “Butter.”
Some joked about the leakers’ fate and how Rockstar – famous for its secrecy – might punish them. Like this image shared by @vidsthatgohard showing an explosion in a house with the caption: “NOOOOO they got the GTA leaker.”
Others joked about how long it will take to play the game and posted videos of people adopting healthier lifestyles to survive until 2025.
Wasn’t the trailer due on Tuesday?
Rockstar had announced that the trailer would be released on Tuesday, but someone posted the video almost a day before