In this article, we break down every Easter Egg, reference, and teaser in the new trailer for Grand Theft Auto 6 by Rockstar Games.
After years of speculation, the official trailer for GTA 6, Rockstar’s next open-world adventure, has finally been revealed. This game takes fans back to Vice City for a new story filled with robbery, murder, carjacking, and various assorted crimes.
Although the first trailer is short, it packs in quite a bit of detail regarding the game’s setting, activities, and main characters.
Tom Petty Music
Grand Theft Auto games use real locations as the basis for their cities. In particular, Vice City is inspired by Miami, Florida, and the debut trailer for GTA 6 uses Love is a Long Road by Tom Petty for the mood and tone. Petty is from Gainesville, Florida, and creates the lovers-against-the-world vibes.
Hair Physics
Hair has been notoriously difficult to animate in games, and the bikini-clad woman in the trailer who flairs her strands is a showoff of Rockstar’s latest technological breakthroughs in this department. It also casts a shadow on her shoulder with realistic proportions.
Environmental Hazard
New features of the environment show off the world itself, including a waterspout ruining a man’s suit, and an alligator just casually walking into a convenience store.
Modern Day Timeline
Unlike GTA: Vice City, set during the period of the 1980s, it appears as though GTA 6 is set in the modern day. The trailer includes social media stars creating video content, with one twerking on top of a moving vehicle and the other getting out of the driver’s seat while the car is moving.
Callbacks to Past Games
There were several references to past entries in the Grand Theft Auto series in the trailer, including a glimpse of the Ocean View Hotel, which was the first safehouse in GTA: Vice City. Later on, a Liberator monster truck is seen, which appeared in GTA V and GTA: San Andreas.
Florida Joker
After a series of arrests several years ago, a man in the Miami area known as the “Florida Joker” made headlines. In the GTA 6 trailer, The Florida Joker has tattoos resembling the famous villain. It appears as though Rockstar is referencing him in the trailer, including a brief glimpse of a purple-haired man with facial tattoos.
Leonida
Leonia, the fictional state in which Vice City is located, is referenced by name several times throughout the trailer. It remains to be seen just how far gamers will be able to go outside of Vice City. However, the multiple mentions of the state at large could be a hint. The trailer also mentions another location called Hamlet near the end.
Citizen App Riff
In GTA 6, it appears as though you may be able to use an app similar to Citizen in the US, which allows people to report crimes in their local area. This app is extremely popular, and a government account notice about 45 seconds into the trailer shows an animal control agent trying to remove an alligator from a swimming pool.
GTA 6 is currently scheduled to launch in 2025 on PS5 and Xbox Series X|S.