2025 Preview: Grand Theft Auto 6 needs to show it can keep with the times

15 hours ago 24

The day Grand Theft Auto VI is released will look something like 28 Days Later. The streets will be a ghost town, workplaces will be full of empty chairs, and schools (sorry PEGI, but let’s face it) will have so many absences that the teachers will start worrying there may be some sort of infectious disease they weren’t aware of.

After all, when you’re talking about a series whose last game is currently sitting at no fewer than 205 million copies sold worldwide, the question isn’t whether the sixth entry will be an enormous success, but just how enormous that success will be.

There are very few certainties in life, but GTA 6 being the biggest media release of 2025 is about as close to a sure thing as you can ever get. That’s what we do know, but it’s what we don’t that could determine whether the game will live up to its astronomical hype.

It’s already known that we’re dealing with two protagonists this time, including the first playable woman lead since 2000 (not the first ever, as some claim). Lucia and her partner, whose name still isn’t known at the time of writing – though previous leaks suggest it’s Jason – look set to be the 21st century mainstream’s version of Bonnie and Clyde, as they blaze a trail of crime through Leonida (based on Florida), taking in Vice City as part of this.

The plot has only ever been one component of GTA’s success, however, and while we’d imagine it will be solid enough again, it’s the series’ reputation for satire that’s less of a sure thing this time around. A lot has changed in the 12 years between GTA 5 and GTA 6: this is a world that will be in its second Trump presidency, a world where rampant social media toxicity, “fake news” accusations, anti-‘woke’ narratives and deep fake technology are a daily occurrence for many people.

Back in the day, some funny billboards, spoof radio ads, and a satirical talk radio station or two were all GTA needed to be considered the cutting edge of social commentary in a video game, but that strategy may feel archaic if it’s replicated this time around.

Will Rockstar’s writers somehow figure out how to poke fun at the powerful and pitiful of today’s society in a way that feels fresh? It certainly isn’t deciding to back down from the challenge: the game’s first trailer includes numerous easter eggs poking fun at the likes of Fox News, antidepressants, and all things Florida, so it’s clear that a sense of humor will remain intact, however successful it ends up being.

The other complete unknown is how the game’s inevitable online component will look, and how it’ll differ from the current GTA Online. Will it replace it entirely? Will players be able to copy over everything they earned in the GTA 5 version, or will they have to start again? Will solo players get to enjoy more of it without having to engage with others online?

The only thing that’s certain – other than GTA 6’s ridiculous sales success, of course – is that GTA Online will absolutely be there, and for the long haul too: an analyst cited by the Wall Street Journal suggested that a decade on, GTA Online was still making around half a billion dollars (yes, with a B) in the 12 months between Summer 2022 and 2023.