Official trailer

Trailer 1

The reveal. Leonida, Vice City, Lucia in a prison jumpsuit, and a 2025 date that did not hold.

Trailer 1

What it was

Rockstar's first look at the game, announced on 1 December 2023 for a Tuesday 5 December premiere and put out a day early on 4 December after it leaked. Rockstar's own words: the game 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 series yet.

What it established

The setting and its name, the return to Vice City, Lucia as a lead, and a 2025 window for PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S. The window moved to 26 May 2026 in May 2025 and to 19 November 2026 that November.

Ammo's take

Ammo

Ammo

15 June 2025

Two years on, what stands out is how little Trailer 1 promised and how much of it held. Leonida, Vice City, Lucia, the tone - all of it survived two delays intact. The only thing it got wrong was the year.

Read the full piece →

What we know

When did GTA 6 Trailer 1 come out?

On 4 December 2023, a day before the Tuesday 5 December date Rockstar had announced. Rockstar's own VI site lists Trailer 1 as 4 December 2023, while its Newswire post carries the 5 December date. It gave a 2025 release window.

2 sources
  1. Rockstar Games - Grand Theft Auto VI - Watch Trailer 1 Now (opens in a new tab)

    "Coming 2025 to PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S."

  2. Rockstar Games - Grand Theft Auto VI: An Extended Look (opens in a new tab)

    "Trailer 1 - December 4, 2023"

Leonida in GTA 6 - a screenshot from Rockstar Games

What song is in GTA 6 Trailer 1?

Tom Petty's "Love Is a Long Road". Rockstar's trailer page does not credit it, but the identification was immediate and Spotify put numbers on it: streams up 36,979% in the week after the trailer, past 11 million plays by 6 December 2023. Whether it plays in the game itself has not been said.

2 sources
  1. Kotaku - GTA 6 Trailer Makes Tom Petty Song Explode On Spotify (opens in a new tab)

    "And the trailer's song, 'Love Is a Long Road,' is predictably blowing up too, according to Spotify."

    "According to Spotify, streams of 'Love Is a Long Road' have increased by 36,979% compared to last week."

  2. PC Gamer - Every GTA 6 song confirmed so far (opens in a new tab)

    "Love is a Long Road - Tom Petty"

What song is in GTA 6 Trailer 1?

Was GTA 6 Trailer 1 leaked?

Yes. Rockstar had announced a premiere for Tuesday 5 December 2023 at 9am ET. A copy appeared on X on the evening of 4 December, and about half an hour later, at 6:10pm EST, Rockstar posted the real trailer with one line: "Our trailer has leaked so please watch the real thing on YouTube." Roughly fifteen hours early.

2 sources
  1. Rockstar Games - TRAILER 1. TUESDAY, DECEMBER 5. 9AM ET. (opens in a new tab)

    "TRAILER 1. TUESDAY, DECEMBER 5. 9AM ET."

  2. GamesRadar+ - Presumably while calling its lawyers, Rockstar responded to the GTA 6 trailer leak: "Our trailer has leaked so please watch the real thing" (opens in a new tab)

    "In a rare break from tradition, Rockstar dropped the GTA 6 trailer roughly 15 hours ahead of schedule in direct response to a leak. "Our trailer has leaked so please watch the real thing on YouTube," the publisher said in a tweet"

    "Rockstar's tweet was posted at 6:10 pm EST, a little over half an hour after the GTA 6 trailer initially leaked via a Twitter account which was struck down just minutes before the official trailer went live."

Was GTA 6 Trailer 1 leaked?

How many views did GTA 6 Trailer 1 get?

Over 93 million on YouTube in its first 24 hours, which YouTube itself announced as a new record for the 24-hour debut of a non-music video. By the next day, videos about the game had passed 250 million views on the platform. That figure is YouTube only; Rockstar published no cross-platform total for Trailer 1.

1 source
  1. YouTube Official Blog - Grand Theft Auto VI trailer launch sets new 24-hour record on YouTube (opens in a new tab)

    "With over 93 million views in 24 hours, 'GTA VI Trailer 1' has set the new views record for 24-hour debut of a non-music video."

    "Since the day of the launch of the trailer for GTA VI, there have been over 250M views of videos related to Grand Theft Auto VI."

How many views did GTA 6 Trailer 1 get?