GTA is back. The Rockstar Games studio presented the first trailer for GTA VI. The short video segment, just 90 seconds, is enough to show all the famous ingredients of the saga: skyscrapers and sparkling cars, but also gangs, lust and guns. A sample of the best and especially the worst of America, experienced through characters – here a duo of Bonnie and Clyde-style criminals – in search of money, respect, power, freedom. We easily find the two main characteristics of Grand Theft Autosix major titles so far since 1997. Scripted missions, forming a real thriller. And at the same time, the prospect of a total wandering; people dance there, go shopping, eat as innocently as they steal and kill there. An immoral release which has often sparked controversy… And maintained its myth: GTA is one of the most sold cultural goods in the world (410 million copies in total). The trailer this time seems to place the plot in Florida, where we recognize a fictional version of Miami, called Vice, bathed in a warm purplish light as well as the wetlands of the Everglades. A reference to GTA Vice Citydelivered in 2002. And a message, therefore: the fans will not be disoriented.
That’s all for the moment. The enormous audience – already more than 65 million views on YouTube and several dozen others on social networks, at 3:30 p.m. this Tuesday – betrays the wait skillfully maintained by Rockstar Games. Hoped for in 2024, GTA VI will finally arrive only in 2025, 12 years after the previous one. Barack Obama was then president of the United States. Emmanuel Macron as a discreet advisor to the head of state, François Hollande. The #MeToo scandal had not yet broken out, nor had the Covid crisis. Until now, players had never waited more than five years between two games. During a few carefully spaced interviews, Strauss Zelnick, the boss of Take-Two Interactive (the parent company of Rockstar Games), recalls how each GTA must be “something you’ve never seen before”. An attitude that annoys, frustrates, sometimes. Rockstar Games thus suffered the wrath of hackers, with a massive data leak in September 2022, providing preview information on the game. A new leak has rushed the posting of the trailer initially scheduled for 3 p.m., this Tuesday, December 5.
Everything remains under control. Rockstar has no reason to hurry and deliver all the details of GTA VI. Sales of its predecessor (190 million alone) continue to grow thanks to various updates, new game modes and online missions constantly renewing interest in the title, despite its necessarily limited initial capabilities. . Thanks to this persistence, the number of spectators of Grand Theft Auto V on Twitch (a famous video game viewing platform) has increased by more than 3,400% since 2016, notes the American media Bloomberg. In 2022, Rockstar Games even introduced annual GTA+ subscriptions, offering bonuses and exclusives to its members, in order to monetize this audience. With success. Rockstar Games now exceeds 8 billion in revenue on GTA V. Enough to afford a Hollywood budget for the next part, probably the biggest in the history of video games.
“Grand Theft Auto VI continues our efforts to push the boundaries of what is possible when it comes to highly immersive and story-driven open-world experiences,” warned Rockstar founder Sam Houser when the trailer was released. gameplay – all the actions carried out by the characters – as well as the playing area, should be increased tenfold (GTA V already spread over the equivalent of 50 km2). The promise of hundreds or even thousands of hours of adventure for players behind their screens. A question of longevity, once again. And competition. GTA is no longer the only one to focus on open worlds. This is demonstrated by the successes in recent years of Skyrim, Fortnite or Minecraft. The challenges are numerous: the sector has evolved significantly since 2013, the date of the release of the fifth part: the graphics of the games have been considerably improved, making the settings more realistic, more pleasant, more alive. The best-funded so-called “triple A” games now benefit from professional composers for the music, and renowned actors and dubbers for the voices and faces, like the star Keanu Reeves (Matrix) In Cyberpunk 2077. We also have to adapt to a new generation of consoles, led by the Playstation 5 and the Xbox One. Finally, since 2013, the video game world has gained more than a billion new players. For them, it will be necessary to live up to the myth.