'Grand Theft Auto VI' Trailer Leak: The Web's Most Anticipated Leak In 2023

Less than 24 hours before its anticipated debut, the Grand Theft Auto VI trailer appears to have leaked.

At first, the trailer spread out like wildfire, despite having no legitimate explanation from Rockstar Games the developer of the game.

But suspicion began to rise, when the account that first posted the video, allegedly owned by the son of a Rockstar Games employee, was quickly suspended.

More or less, this confirmed that the trailer was indeed the real deal.

Before the post on X was removed, users of the social media platform that took notice, quickly downloaded and reposted the trailer.

And this time, Rockstar Games admitted that the leak was indeed the real trailer.

"Our trailer has leaked so please watch the real thing on YouTube," said Rockstar Games in an X post in a self-deprecating, followed by releasing the actual trailer to its channels.

Before this, Rockstar Games said in November that the trailer would arrive in "early December," leaving the video game industry to sit tight with white knuckles.

The trailer was supposed to be released on December 5th. But following the leak, Rockstar Games pushed up the release by a day.

The trailer confirms the popular game is coming in 2025, and that the title is indeed simply Grand Theft Auto VI, at least for now.

The trailer also gives a look at the game's female protagonist, a first for the series, whose name is Lucia.

"Bad luck, I guess," she said, as the game starts with her in prison.

Since the original Grand Theft Auto in 1997, the franchise has featured four female avatars, but none of them had voices or personalities.

The trailer also confirms speculations about Grand Theft Auto VI being set in in Vice City, and again.

In addition to that, there are lots of quick shots of crime, and glimpses of TikTok-esque footage and live-streams, hinting that social media is part of the game.

What's worth noting here is that, Rockstar Games first released the trailer on YouTube and no where else.

In less than a day, the first trailer for GTA VI has racked up about 100 million views.

While this ranking is still below the most viewed YouTube video in 24 hours is the music video for K-Pop sensation BTS’ song "Butter," which was viewed 108 million times in that timespan, it managed to dethrone a MrBeast video’s record for most YouTube views in 24 hours.

MrBeast admitted this himself in an X post.

Even Guinness World Records confirmed this.

The high anticipation of people about the game also made X CEO Linda Yaccarino to publicly ask Rockstar Games to post the trailer to that social media platform.

"@RockstarGames — gaming is one of our most popular topics," she wrote. "Drop that trailer here — give the people on @X what they want!!"

Read: 'Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy - The Definitive Edition' Makes Its Appearance On Netflix

Grand Theft Auto is a series of action-adventure games, primarily developed by British development house Rockstar North, and published by its American parent company, Rockstar Games.

With a gameplay that focuses on an open world where players can complete missions to progress an overall story, as well as engage in various side activities, the franchise has captivated its audience due to how it suggesting things couldn't be less American.

In this GTA VI case, there are the American flag in bikinis, women twerking, a lot of muscle cars, biker gangs, Bonnie and Clyde-like armed robbery, Black men in gold jewelry, sun-kissed beaches and neon signage, and more.

Let's not forget Floridian antics, like the strip clubs, parties and alligators.

GTA VI was so much anticipated because this marks the first game of the franchise in a decade since the release of GTA V.

GTA V has sold more than 190 million copies since its release in 2013. And combined with its online iteration GTA Online, the game is the single-most profitable entertainment product of all time, having generated more than $7.7 billion for publisher Take-Two.

Before GTA VI was even mentioned, 2022 wasn't all positive for Rockstar, as development footage of the game was leaked in a colossal data breach.

The authorities eventually arrested a British teenager in relation to the incident.