Masuk Free Press

After over a decade since the release of the last installation, the extremely popular Grand Theft Auto franchise has posted the first trailer for GTA VI, giving fans a first glimpse into what the future of the series holds. The trailer, released by publisher Rockstar Games, premiered on Dec. 4 unveiling a 90 second first look as to what players can expect. The first look ended by announcing a 2025 release date. After GTA V rose to the rank of the second best-selling video game of all time, beat out only by Minecraft. Fans across the world and at Masuk have had their hype ignited by this culturally significant teaser.

GTA VI, taking place in the fictional city of “Vice City”, aims to parody the real-life city of Miami, Florida. The trailer showcased the fictionalized iconic Florida sights like the city skyline, swamplands, beaches and of course the ever-common eccentric citizens of Florida.

“Dude, I am super excited. Not only has GTA VI been a super long wait, but everyone has been hyping it up, saying it’s going to be the best game ever created,” said Masuk junior Sawyer Judge.

The video on YouTube has reached 142 million views within just one week of publication, garnering 80 million of those within the first 24 hours. Of course, this excitement is reflected by students at Masuk.

“I really liked it [the trailer]. There’s been a lot of hype, mostly on Twitter, that led up to it. It was really impactful. It really validates everyone’s hopes and dreams that it’ll be really good.” said junior Justin Cannone. “Graphically it looks amazing. And they really got the Florida vibe down. With all of the animals and the Everglades, it just looks great.”

The trailer was forced to be released early, following the entirety being leaked a day before the original release date of Dec. 5. This leak was just another instance of Rockstar facing data breaches in regard to GTA VI. Multiple large leaks have occurred within the last couple of years, revealing much information about the game, to Rockstar’s dismay.

In September of last year, Rockstar faced one of the biggest leaks in video game history, revealing various work-in-progress clips from the ongoing development of the then unrevealed game. The hacked footage consisted of over 90 videos, which first started from an obscure gaming forum and spread like wildfire across the Internet.

 More than a year later, Rockstar and its parent company, Take Two Interactive, have done a good job of scrubbing all video from the web. All that remains are the first-hand accounts of those who were able to see the leaks before they were all taken down. Though the actual footage is nearly impossible to find online now, the impact of the leaks surfacing the public’s first look at unofficial authentic GTA VI content cannot be understated.

“The 2022 leaks, that was alpha gameplay. So it wasn’t official, but it still looked very good for an alpha gameplay leak,” said Cannone.

GTA VI has already begun to receive some criticism, though the information available about the game is still highly limited. The trailer featured multiple scenes depicting odd individuals in their parody Florida setting. One of these showed a heavily tattooed man in a jumpsuit during a news broadcast.

Lawrence Sullivan, who is commonly known by the name of “Florida Joker,” has now come out on social media accusing Rockstar Games of using his likeness without his consent, demanding compensation from the company.

“That’s me. GTA, we gotta talk GTA. We gotta talk. Or not you gotta give me like a mil’ or two,” said Sullivan in a now viral TikTok post.

This situation is not the first time Rockstar has faced flak for allegedly referencing pop culture. In 2014, Lindsay Lohan sued Rockstar Games for similar accusations of her likeness being used without permission in the fifth entry of the series. The case was ruled in favor of Rockstar due to the fictitious nature of the games.

Aside from specific criticism directed at the newly released trailer, the Grand Theft Auto series has always been one of controversy. Violence, glorification of crime, and explicit sexual content are all factors of the series that receive heavy critique.

“All I know about it is that you can steal cars and beat women. It’s pretty messed up,” said junior Carter Smetak.

Nonetheless, the series still remains popular amongst its intended adult audience, but also in highschool aged teens. Masuk, of course, is no exception.

“Of course I’m getting GTA VI; who isn’t?” said Cannone.

Fans are now left to wait expectantly until more information is publicly released. All we know for sure is that come 2025, GTA VI is surely going to make waves within the video game space, but also pop culture as a whole.