GTA 6 Trailer 1 went live on December 4, 2023, a 1:31 video that ended a decade of waiting. It was meant to premiere at 9am ET on December 5, but a leaked copy forced Rockstar to post it about 15 hours early. It revealed the title Grand Theft Auto VI, a return to Vice City in the state of Leonida, two leads, a 2025 release window, and PS5 and Xbox Series X|S as the only platforms.
When did GTA 6 Trailer 1 come out?
On November 8, 2023, Sam Houser’s “A Message from Rockstar Games” promised the first trailer for the next GTA in early December, tied to Rockstar’s 25th anniversary confirmed. Rockstar later set the slot for 9am ET on Tuesday, December 5.
It did not hold. On the evening of December 4 (US time), a low-quality copy with a crypto watermark spread on X. About 30 minutes later Rockstar posted the official trailer, roughly 15 hours ahead of schedule, per Gamepressure confirmed. Rockstar’s own video page dates the trailer December 4, 2023.
What did GTA 6 Trailer 1 reveal?
| Reveal | Detail |
|---|---|
| Title | Grand Theft Auto VI |
| Setting | Vice City, in the fictional state of Leonida |
| Protagonists | Lucia, seen first in prison, and her partner Jason |
| Window | ”2025” on the end card |
| Platforms | PS5 and Xbox Series X|S, no PC |
| Song | Tom Petty, “Love Is a Long Road” |
The trailer opens on Lucia in prison. The first voice heard is reportedly her prison social worker, whom fans call “Stefanie” reported. It then cuts to a montage of Leonida life styled after real Florida viral clips, and introduces Jason as her partner. That couple-on-the-run setup matched what Bloomberg’s Jason Schreier had reported in July 2022: a Latina female lead in a criminal duo, in a fictional Miami.
Lucia’s reveal made her the first female protagonist of a 3D-era mainline GTA. Our first female protagonist page explains the careful wording.
What song is in GTA 6 Trailer 1?
Tom Petty’s “Love Is a Long Road”, from Full Moon Fever (1989). A “Petty Forever” sticker is visible on a door near the end. Every trailer’s music is on our trailer songs page.
How many views did Trailer 1 get?
| Measure | Figure | Source |
|---|---|---|
| YouTube views, first 24 hours | 93M+ | YouTube Official Blog |
| YouTube views, first 24 hours (record count) | 90,421,491 | Guinness World Records |
| Likes, first 24 hours | 8.9M | Guinness World Records |
| About two days | 101M | Wikipedia |
| January 2024 | 168M | Wikipedia |
| November 2025 | 268M | Wikipedia |
The two 24-hour figures are separate counts; the Guinness number is the certified one. Guinness certified it as the most viewed video game trailer on YouTube in 24 hours and the most liked. YouTube said it was a record 24-hour debut for a non-music video, beating MrBeast’s 59.4M mark confirmed.
Trailer 2 later claimed 475M views across all platforms in 24 hours, but its YouTube-only count stayed below Trailer 1’s record.
What easter eggs are in GTA 6 Trailer 1?
Den of Geek’s frame-by-frame pass found plenty reported:
- The Ocean View Hotel, where Tommy Vercetti stayed in GTA Vice City.
- A small three-windowed building beside the Atlantic Hotel, modeled on the Scarface chainsaw scene location.
- Recreations of real Florida viral clips: the “Florida Joker”, a man watering his lawn in a thong, an alligator wandering into a store, and a woman twerking on a car.
- A seaplane banner for Nine1Nine, a riff on Miami’s E11EVEN club.
- The Seven Mile Bridge and the Keys, the area our Leonida Keys page covers.
- A shark and dolphins in an early ocean shot, and a caption about a town called Hamlet.
- Returning vehicle names including the Cheetah, Banshee, Comet, Stanier and Sea Sparrow.
The full list, across every trailer, is on GTA 6 trailer easter eggs.
Did Trailer 1 confirm a PC version?
No. The platforms shown were PS5 and Xbox Series X|S, and that has not changed in three years. Every later trailer, the June 2026 pre-order launch and the November 2026 pre-load kept to the same two consoles. GamesBeat reported in October 2026, citing four anonymous sources, that a PC version is targeted for Q1 2027; Rockstar did not respond reported. Take-Two’s Strauss Zelnick has said PC can now be “40% or 50%” of multiplatform sales, without announcing anything. See GTA 6 PC release date.
Why was Trailer 1 such a big deal?
Context explains the numbers. Rockstar did not confirm a new GTA at all until February 4, 2022, when a Newswire post said development was “well underway”. The September 2022 hack then put early footage online without Rockstar’s consent. Trailer 1 was the first time Rockstar showed the game on its own terms, with its own title card. The full run-up is on the GTA 6 timeline.
What did Trailer 1 get wrong?
Only the date. “2025” became May 26, 2026, then November 19, 2026, after two delays. The full record is on GTA 6 delays. Everything else the trailer showed, from Vice City to the two leads, held up.
What came next
No new trailer came for 17 months. Trailer 2 arrived without warning on May 6, 2025, four days after the first delay. The whole run of videos is in the media hub.