It’s been over 500 days since that fateful evening of December 4, 2023. While millions were still counting down the hours until the trailer’s official release time, Rockstar cheekily rolled out the first glimpse at GTA 6 to counter a fatal leak. The move brought the world to a standstill—an expression rarely applicable to a video game. It immediately drew eyes from all around the globe, a majority of which dilated with pure joy. But that euphoric exuberance has all but extinguished, as Rockstar has since displayed more silence than a graveyard. As we mark this unfortunate milestone, I’ve put together my thoughts on just how maddening it is to have been over 500 days and still not have a trailer two for GTA 6.
GTA 6’s Marketing Goes Against Rockstar Tradition
Before you assume that I’m raging for no reason, the wait for the second GTA 6 trailer flies against Rockstar’s own standards. For context, it took just over a year (378 days) between the first and second GTA 5 trailers, and that stretch still included in-game screenshots. Red Dead Redemption 2 followed a similar pattern with a 343-day gap. That’s a combined total of 721 days across two major titles. Yet somehow, GTA 6 has already blown past 500 days, and still not a whisper about trailer 2.
When coupled with the ambiguous Fall 2025 GTA 6 release window, it’s almost as if Rockstar is seated at a poker table, overly keen on hiding their hand. The deafening silence would make sense if the intention were to soften the reverberations of a delay. But the constant reiteration of the 2025 window during Take-Two earnings calls doesn’t help this cause at all.
Admittedly, Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick’s comments about their marketing strategy helped soothe the sting of this trailer-less release. If the approach truly is to build hype closer to the release date, the current lull seems reasonable. That said, it leaves millions of fans, including myself, toiling away in limbo and wishing on a star for a new glimpse at the game’s reimagining of Vice City.
If compiling a trailer is too much of an ordeal right now, why not hold fans over with a couple of screenshots? We’re not asking for much – a beachfront bathed in sunlight and a picturesque vista will do the trick. My point is that anything, even a morsel of new information, will go a long way in reigniting those flickering hopes of a 2025 release that run the risk of dimming entirely.
It’s not just me clamoring for new content, either. Just head over to the GTA 6 subreddit, and you’ll find many users who share my annoyance. Most of these frustrations can be soothed by any signs of life from Rockstar, because at the moment, it seems like they’ve turned a cold shoulder.
The Constant GTA 5 Promotion Makes Things Worse
It’s public knowledge that GTA Online is a goldmine, which is why Rockstar continues to support it emphatically. Most of the company’s social media activity is centered around promoting their events and content updates, which is perfectly fine from a logical standpoint.
However, it feels like salt in the wounds for passionate fans who swarm the comments under these posts, desperately calling for more GTA 6. The posts are a stark reminder that Rockstar is still talking, just not about the thing we’re all here for.
What makes the silence around GTA 6 even more grating is Rockstar’s relentless push for GTA 5, an 11-year-old game that needs no more promotion. We’ve seen it remastered, re-released, and repackaged for three console generations now. It’s been paraded on storefronts, included in subscription services, and it even served as the curtain raiser for the PS5 reveal event. I’m not suggesting that the company is stuck in the past, but it’s time for it to fast-track its way towards the future.
There’s no possibility of my incessant rants putting a dent in the company’s ironclad marketing plans. But as we move toward the 17th month without a new look at the upcoming title, my only hope is that Rockstar is listening, and that they’re willing to reward the community’s unwavering patience with something. Anything.
That said, are you annoyed that we haven’t gotten a trailer 2 for GTA 6 yet? Share your frustrations in the comments below.
