Small Details You Missed In GTA 6's First Trailer
At long last, gamers have gotten their first good look at the next chapter of the "Grand Theft Auto" saga. Following an unexpected leak that broke the internet on December 5, Rockstar Games unveiled the premiere trailer for its latest crime-filled opus. As to be expected from such a huge title, fans are already picking apart each and every frame to try and find Easter eggs, hints at the plot, or callbacks to previous entries in the series.
The 90-second spot mostly focuses on building up a sense of the game's tone and showing off the graphics engine (similar to previous Rockstar teaser trailers), making it feel much more like a tease than a full trailer. It's clear that Rockstar is still keeping things close to the chest and saving more surprises for future previews, but the trailer still contains a few tantalizing bits that fans are latching onto. Here are some or our favorite small details from the new trailer.
Tom Petty returns
The first trailer for "Grand Theft Auto 6" features a cheeky nod to both "San Andreas" and the wait for a new entry. The maiden look at the sixth entry is set to Tom Petty's grooving "Love is a Long Road," which first debuted in 1989. The heartfelt track effortlessly helps reintroduce the world of Vice City and its seedy, sunlit streets. While the classic '80s track no doubt succeeds in painting the game's atmosphere, its use is brilliantly strategic: this isn't the first time Rockstar Games has used a Tom Petty track in a "GTA" game.
Players last heard Tom Petty in "GTA: San Andreas" on the rock radio station K-DST, which played his laid-back track "Runnin' Down a Dream." Also released in 1989, "Runnin' Down a Dream" was a fan-favorite track from the "San Andreas" in-game radio, so it makes sense that Rockstar is going back into Petty's archives for the first "GTA 6" trailer. More importantly, however, the use of Petty's "Love is a Long Road" is a self-aware acknowledgment of just how darn long it's taken for Rockstar Games to unveil the sixth "GTA" game.
The lyrics, "Yeah, love is a long, long road," are consistently heard throughout the trailer. The first trailer for "GTA 6" has released a whopping 10 years after "GTA 6" hit store shelves in September 2013. And with "GTA 6" officially on track to release in 2025, saying that it's been a "long, long road" for Rockstar and the series' fans is nothing short of an understatement.
The Pole Position Club may be back
Night clubs — and every debauched thing that goes on inside them — have long been a key part of the "Grand Theft Auto" franchise, and it looks like "GTA 6" will be no exception. The Pole Position Club, the exotic dancing hotspot last seen in "Grand Theft Auto: Vice City," appears to be back as a fixture of the city. In the original "Vice City," Pole Position was the only club that the player could actually enter, and could eventually be purchased by the player character, Tommy. Maybe the new protagonists will find it equally inviting!
The club seen in the trailer looks better than ever, with fully modernized graphics showing every scandalous detail clear as day, despite the dark lighting. The features visible in the trailer include a stage (with dancers performing of course) lit roman candles being paraded through the crowd, and a promotion called "Make it Rain Mondays." However, the sign may just be flavor text, rather than a promotion that will actually exist in game.
Social media gets an upgrade
It looks like "Grand Theft Auto 6" will be bringing a more modern version of social media to the series. While "Grand Theft Auto 5" had some minor social media elements that felt closer to the real world's Facebook and Instagram, they were simple and not really the focus of the game. "GTA 6," on the other hand, appears to be making social media into a central aspect of the game.
In the new trailer, several clips can be seen which appear to show in-game social media apps being used to record what is happening on screen. These shots mimic popular real world social media platforms like Facebook Live, TikTok, Instagram Reels, and even Snapchat. This unnamed platform includes what looks to be a livestreaming feature, complete with a chat log that is updating in real time. Whether these features are mere flavor to make the world feel more realistic or are a crucial part of the game's storytelling remains unknown, but based on the trailer, they certainly do seem to have some depth and complexity to them. Maybe "GTA 6" will allow players to live out their wildest influencer dreams.
The Cheetah is back
In a not-so-surprising move, the first trailer for "Grand Theft Auto 6" confirms the return of a fan-favorite vehicle. At one point in this first look, players witness the neon-lit streets of Vice City, filled with partygoers looking for their next adventure. Looking closely, players can see a parked Cheetah next to several sports cars. To make things all the more explicit, the vehicle's license plate aptly features the name "CH33TAH."
The Cheetah class of vehicles has always been a prominent part of the "Grand Theft Auto" franchise, so it's not surprising to see the wicked-fast car return for the upcoming game. Based on several real-life Ferrari vehicles, the Cheetahs are some of the quickest and sharpest cars in the series and are always a delight to drive. With the Cheetah returning for "GTA 6," it's fair to say that other prominent vehicles like the Infernus could also return. Seeing as the new game clearly boasts a contemporary setting, it's also possible that the 2025 entry could even feature riffs on modern-day vehicles, like Tesla's controversial Cybertruck (fingers crossed).
Is the Malibu Club making a comeback?
The debut trailer for "Grand Theft Auto 6" might be teasing more than one location. Back when gamers first got their hands on "GTA: Vice City" in 2002, they immediately found themselves obsessed with the seedy (but fun) Malibu Club. One of the most prominent and memorable locations from "Vice City," the Malibu Club was the spot for all sorts of hijinks for protagonist Tommy Vercetti, who purchases the prosperous nightclub. Always popping, Malibu Club was a key part of several missions, even going on to appear in the PSP prequel game "Vice City Stories."
With "GTA 6" bringing players back to the party-obsessed streets of Vice City, is it possible that Rockstar is already teasing the return of the Malibu Club? In the trailer, viewers can briefly see a bumping nightclub filled with dancing partygoers and a DJ cooking up tunes. It appears to be a different setting from the gentleman's club seen elsewhere in the trailer. While there's nothing to explicitly indicate that this is the iconic Malibu Club, it isn't out of the realm of possibility to suggest that the club is making a contemporary return. After all, 2013's "GTA 5" featured several familiar locations returning from "San Andreas." Bringing Malibu Club back would be a major move in tying the sixth entry to "Vice City." Who knows — maybe our lead protagonists will also be purchasing the club, following in Tommy Vercetti's footsteps?
Florida Man
The phenomenon of "Florida Man" is as well-known a meme as there is, and while the reality is that it just comes from Florida's uniquely easy-to-access police records, its place in the cultural zeitgeist of the internet has been well and truly cemented.
"Grand Theft Auto 6" is embracing its meme-worthy setting by including several references to Florida Man in the trailer. For example, there's the true story of a man accused of dumping an alligator into a Wawa convenience store, which seems to be referenced by a shot of a gator crawling into a similar store in the trailer. Another example is the news story in the trailer about an overturned vehicle, which happened after its driver dined and dashed. This may reference another Florida Man story in which a man dined and dashed at a Denny's, then hit an employee of the restaurant as he tried to leave.
"Grand Theft Auto" has always been great at poking fun at itself and its settings, so it can be assumed that "GTA 6" will use its Florida locale to the fullest. Maybe it will even be the player's turn to be Florida Man, driving their car into a river or stealing a helicopter just because it seems fun. What fans might have missed, however, is that the mystery of Florida Man goes even deeper in this first trailer.
Florida is now Leonida?
The "Grand Theft Auto" series' long-awaited return to Vice City has finally been officially confirmed. Oozing with neon nostalgia, Vice City is based on real-life Miami, Florida. But if Miami has been renamed to Vice City in this world, does that mean Florida is also getting its own fictional name? Piecing together some clues leads one to believe that Florida has been renamed Leonida in "Grand Theft Auto 6."
Throughout the game's official trailer, there are what appear to be multiple instances of the word "Leonida" being used in the context of a state name. During the montage of social media posts, the username "PlanetLeonidaMan" sticks out as an appearent reference to the Florida Man internet meme. PlanetLeonidaMan's post is about a cop chasing down a half-naked individual, further playing into the typical Florida Man meme absurdity. Another clue runs across the news channel ticker and reads, "Leonida man sucked up in waterspout demands the city buy him a new suit." Lastly, the Spanish news report about "un hombre de Leonida" also refers explicitly to the reimagined Florida Man moniker.
Okay, so Miami is Vice City, and Florida is Leonida — anything else? Who knows what other changes to the United States have occurred, and what other geographical surprises might be waiting when "GTA 6" releases in 2025.