Grand Theft Auto VI leak followed by an official trailer with a twist: A release date of 2025

The highly-anticipated reveal of Grand Theft Auto VI took an unexpected turn as a leaked copy of the official trailer surfaced online. Rockstar Games, the developer behind the cult-classic video game series, released the trailer earlier than planned, approximately 15 hours ahead of the scheduled unveiling on Tuesday morning. Acknowledging the leak, the company urged viewers to watch the genuine trailer on YouTube via a message posted on X (formerly Twitter) at around 6 p.m. ET on Monday.

Both Rockstar Games and its parent company, Take-Two Interactive Software Inc., refrained from providing specific details regarding the source of the leak and did not respond to inquiries from The Big Big News early on Tuesday.

Despite the premature release, devoted Grand Theft Auto enthusiasts gleaned intriguing information from the 90-second teaser. Notably, the next installment of the series will be set in a locale reminiscent of Miami, known as Vice City, and will feature a female protagonist, marking a significant first for the franchise. The character’s name is Lucia. The concluding moments of the video also confirmed that the game is not slated for release until 2025.

This release date comes as a surprise to some, including analysts at Raymond James & Associates, who initially anticipated the launch in the 2024 holiday season. The stock price of Take-Two Interactive saw a decline of approximately 2% at the start of trading.

While Take-Two has not yet disclosed a specific date within 2025 for the game’s release, industry analysts still anticipate it arriving in the early months of the year. This expectation is based on the company’s commentary regarding booking expectations, which are projected to be just under $8 billion for the 2025 fiscal year.

Despite potential disappointment among investors regarding the revised timing, analysts at Raymond James emphasized that this shift does not alter their perception of the game’s massive potential upon release. Grand Theft Auto VI is expected to make a significant impact, notwithstanding the delay, compared to the previous installment, Grand Theft Auto V, which was released in 2013, more than a decade ago.

The upcoming sixth installment is set to be accessible on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X’S systems, as confirmed by Rockstar Games and Take-Two on Monday.

The teaser for Grand Theft Auto VI generated “exceptionally strong” buzz and pent-up demand, with tens of millions of views amassed within hours of its release. As of approximately 10:30 a.m. ET on Tuesday, Rockstar Games’ official YouTube trailer had already garnered over 70 million views.

The release timing of Grand Theft Auto VI is also poised to impact the release schedules of other industry titles, as Stifel analysts noted. This effect could lead to a strengthening of the lineup in the latter half of 2024, as competitors strive to avoid launching their games in proximity to the highly-anticipated Grand Theft Auto VI.

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• Rockstar Games Official Website
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• [The Big Big News](insert link if available)
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• PlayStation 5 Official Website
• Xbox Series X Official Website