Justin Pizzo

It has been ten years, one month, and eighteen days since Rockstar released their last Grand Theft Auto title, GTA 5. The game went through two generations of consoles, as well as a full decade of fans wondering when we would finally see GTA 6. 

The first official trailer arrived on December 4th, 2023, sending the gaming world into a frenzy unlike anything we’ve seen for quite some time. 

The title will introduce the first ever female protagonist in the GTA series, who goes by the name Lucia. Based on leaks and rumors, the story will focus on Lucia and her partner, going for a sort of “Bonnie and Clyde” dynamic. 

After watching the trailer multiple times, we’ve constructed a list of five interesting details you may have missed in the GTA 6 trailer. 

1. Leonida 

The game takes place in Vice City, which is supposed to represent Miami. The name “Leonida” is likely supposed to represent the state of Florida, and this is depicted on several license plates throughout the trailer. For those of you who don’t know, the man credited with first discovering the state of Florida is Ponce De Leon, a Spanish explorer in the early 1800s. It is likely that the name Leonida is a sort of easter egg or tribute to this explorer. 

2. The Ocean View Hotel

In a clip of what looks to be a busy strip in Vice City, we can see a pink sign in the background that looks to be the Ocean View Hotel. For those that don’t already know, the Ocean View Hotel was the main safehouse in the original Vice City game that was released in 2002. This is a great little easter egg for lifelong fans of the GTA series, and it pays homage to the legendary games that came before it. 

3. Variety of NPC’s

The first impression you get with this trailer is that the world looks vast and very lively. In previous GTA titles, the NPC’s are almost copied and pasted throughout the map. In the clips below we can see how every NPC looks different from the next. They have different styles, different body types, and different activities being performed by each NPC. This is going to allow for a certain level of immersion that we have yet to see in previous Rockstar titles. 

4. Tom Petty 

Tom Petty was an American singer/songwriter who unfortunately passed away in 2017. The song for this trailer is Tom Petty’s “Love is a Long Road.” Tom Petty was a Florida native, and this was a neat way for the developers to pay homage to the legend. However, what’s more interesting is the sticker on the convenience store door that says, “Petty Forever.” One thing you can guarantee is that Rockstar pays very close attention to detail when it comes to this sort of thing. Now, it could be simply a coincidence, but it also could be another way that Rockstar looked to pay homage to the late singer. 

5. Airplanes 

In just about every single shot in this minute and a half trailer, an airplane can be seen flying across the Vice City sky. Like previously mentioned, Rockstar wouldn’t just put this detail in here for nothing. Based on leaks and rumors, the Vice City map is rumored to be larger than any other map Rockstar has put in previous games. Perhaps they are trying to get across the message that commercial flight will be available in some capacity in this game in order for players to essentially “fast travel” to distant locations within the world. 

The game doesn’t have a set release date as of yet, but is said to be coming in 2025. So, while we have a few years before we get our hands on this, the discourse around the game will continue to gain momentum as details continue to emerge.