As anticipation builds for more Grand Theft Auto 6 news following the debut of Trailer 1 in 2023, a former Rockstar developer has suggested he wouldn't release any additional trailers before the game's launch.
Rockstar's first GTA 6 trailer shattered viewership records in December 2023, but the studio has remained silent since. This prolonged information drought has sparked increasingly creative fan theories about the arrival of GTA 6 Trailer 2.
Speculation has ranged from analyzing the holes in Lucia's jail cell door and counting bullet holes on the car from the first trailer to scrutinizing license plates. The most prominent theory involves tracking the game's moon phases, which notably correctly predicted the announcement date for Trailer 1, though it was later debunked as a clue for Trailer 2's release.
This leads to the central question: when will GTA 6 Trailer 2 arrive? Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick has hinted that fans might need to wait until much nearer to the game's Fall 2025 release window for their next glimpse of the world's most anticipated title.
Echoing this sentiment, former Rockstar Games technical director Obbe Vermeij, who contributed to the series up to Grand Theft Auto IV before departing in 2009, stated he wouldn't release any more trailers if the decision were his.
“If it was my call I wouldn’t release any additional trailers,” he tweeted. “There is more than enough hype around VI and the element of surprise is going to make the release only bigger as an event.”
Responding to a user who pondered if Rockstar might simply announce the release date without further fanfare, Vermeij added: “It would be a boss move.”
But would Rockstar actually take such a bold step? By labeling the initial reveal "Trailer 1," the implication is that a numbered sequence will follow. Plans can shift, however. It's possible the next trailer will arrive at the last minute, as Rockstar prioritizes finalizing the game itself over a trailer destined for microscopic analysis.
Vermeij recalled that Rockstar delayed GTA IV in July 2007, just three months before its original October launch, suggesting the "decision day" for GTA 6 could follow a similar pattern.
"Only at that time did it become clear we were going to miss the deadline," Vermeij explained. "I’m guessing decision-day for VI will be similar. Fingers crossed for Take2’s August earnings report."
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In a March interview with Bloomberg, Zelnick was asked directly why GTA 6's release date remains so tightly guarded.
“The anticipation for that title may be the greatest anticipation I’ve ever seen for an entertainment property," Zelnick replied. "And I’ve been around the block a few times and I’ve been in every entertainment business there is.
“We want to maintain the anticipation and the excitement. And we do have competitors who will describe their release schedule for years in advance. And we found that the better thing to do is to provide marketing materials relatively close to the release window in order to create that excitement on the one hand and balance the excitement with unmet anticipation. We don’t always get it exactly right, but that’s what we are trying to do.”
Mike York, a former Rockstar New England animator who worked on GTA V and Red Dead Redemption 2, suggested on his YouTube channel that Rockstar is leaning into the conspiracy theories. By staying silent, they deliberately fuel community speculation and discussion.
“They're reaching and pulling and trying to come up with these really cool theories to decipher when the next trailer will be,” he said of the fanbase.
“Specifically Rockstar, they're very secretive about what they do, and this is a really cool tactic because it creates allure and it creates mystery and it creates people talking about it without them having to do anything. The more they're silent the better it is, because the more people will be antsy and want to talk about it and have this feeling of not knowing what's going to happen.”
York further explained that Rockstar is likely resisting fan pressure to announce a trailer date precisely for this strategic reason.
“They could easily release the trailer date and be like, ‘Hey this is when the trailer's coming out,’ but they don't do it. And they don't do it on purpose because it's a really, really good marketing tactic. If you think about it, it creates these really cool theories.
“This brings the fans together. This is a really cool way to get fans to talk about your game when you’re not releasing anything yet, in-between the times.
“All these theories are great. They only create hype, they create talk, they create mystery behind the games.”
Zelnick's comments imply that GTA 6 Trailer 2, assuming it's in the works, may not debut until we are much closer to the anticipated Fall 2025 release, barring any delays. If that holds true, another official look at the game could still be a ways off.
While waiting for GTA 6, explore IGN's coverage featuring an ex-Rockstar developer who believes the studio may not decide on a potential delay until May 2025, Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick addressing concerns about GTA Online's future post-GTA 6, and expert analysis on whether the PS5 Pro can run GTA 6 at 60 frames per second.
