The first trailer for "Grand Theft Auto VI" (GTA 6) unexpectedly appeared on YouTube on Monday ahead of schedule, marking the arrival of the newest instalment in the wildely popular video game series in 2025.
True to rumours, the video game will be set in fictional Vice City, reminiscent of Miami, and appears to feature the first playable female character in the franchise, which has been criticised for its treatment of women and minorities, AFP reported.
The early release of the trailer, prompted by a leak of it online, came on the evening of Tuesday's scheduled first glimpse of GTA 6.
"Our trailer has leaked so please watch the real thing," Rockstar Games, the company behind GTA, said in a post on X, formerly Twitter.
The video garnered some 3.6 million likes on YouTube within one hour of being posted on the site.
Another rumour about the game, confirmed in the trailer, was that GTA 6 is set for release in 2025, and in a press release published later on Monday, Rockstar specified that the game is coming to PS5 and Xbox Series X / S that year, The Verge reported.
After 10 years in the making, GTA 6's first trailer could have been nothing more than the Roman numeral for six, and it would have likely fuelled discussion and speculation for years to come, according to The Verge.
Thankfully, the trailer showcases much more including fast cars, reckless gunplay, ill-gotten cash, and American-flavoured hedonism set in Vice City — a fictionalised Miami.
It focuses on a single protagonist, Lucia, who is seen wearing a prison jumpsuit and is expected to get her hands dirty committing crimes with her boyfriend after being released from jail.
The press release by Rockstar Games also has a very brief description of the game itself.
“Grand Theft Auto VI heads to the state of Leonida, home to the neon-soaked streets of Vice City and beyond in the biggest, most immersive evolution of the Grand Theft Auto series yet," the statement read.
The reveal of GTA 6 has been a subject of leaked information, with a UK teenager being responsible for last year's leak of 90 videos from the in-development process.
In addition, this week, a TikTok video claimed to be leaked footage from a Rockstar employee's kid, featuring footage of a computer monitor showing wide shots of the game's setting.
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