Grand Theft Auto VI drops a 27-minute extended look: what Rockstar actually showed

Rockstar Games finally stopped teasing. On Thursday, the publisher put out an extended look at Grand Theft Auto VI that runs just under 27 minutes and lives on Rockstar’s YouTube channel, and it’s the first real window into the game’s narrative, gameplay and mechanics.

That’s a lot of runtime for a series that’s spent more than a decade letting a single trailer carry the conversation.

The date, the platforms, the part Rockstar has actually confirmed

Grand Theft Auto VI releases Thursday, Nov. 19 for PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S, according to Rockstar. Pre-orders are open now.

There’s no indication Rockstar is planning a Switch 2 version, and the company hasn’t announced a PC release. Treat any claim otherwise as exactly that: a claim, not an announcement.

Jason, Lucia and the sunniest place in America

Every Grand Theft Auto game plants itself in a heavily hyperbolic version of an American city and follows main characters clawing through that city’s criminal world. This one takes place in Leonida and Vice City, USA, which appears to be a dramatized version of Miami, Florida.

Rockstar’s synopsis for the game is short and does most of the work: “Jason and Lucia have always known the deck is stacked against them,” it reads. “But when an easy score goes wrong, they find themselves on the darkest side of the sunniest place in America, in the middle of a criminal conspiracy stretching across the state of Leonida, forced to rely on each other more than ever if they want to make it out alive.”

$80, and the $100 version above it

The standard game costs $80, which pushes past the general new-game standard by around $10.

Preorders for the Grand Theft Auto VI: Ultimate Edition opened earlier this summer and include additional in-game items. That one runs $100. The ultimate edition “amplifies the deepest and most immersive GTA experience yet with an exclusive collection of premium vehicles, weapons, apparel, and action threaded across all aspects of Jason and Lucia’s story,” Rockstar said.

Pre-order either version and you can start pre-loading on Nov. 12, “to ensure they are able to play at launch” on release day a week later, the company noted.

No disc. Really.

Unlike previous entries in the series, Grand Theft Auto VI won't be released on a disc, according to Rockstar. Physical versions ship with a code in the box and land Nov. 12 to support pre-loading.

So the box on the shelf is a box with a code in it. Collectors, adjust expectations accordingly.

The numbers behind the wait

Grand Theft Auto V came out in 2013 and has sold 230 million copies, according to franchise owner Take-Two Interactive. The franchise as a whole has sold 475 million copies, Take-Two noted.

The series started on the original PlayStation and PC in 1997, where it generated controversy over its violence. In 2001, Grand Theft Auto 3 arrived on PlayStation 2, brought the series into 3D and caused controversy again, this time over violence and sexual content.

Not one for the kids

No, the game will be completely inappropriate for children due to its violence and depiction of the criminal underworld. That isn’t a warning label so much as the product description.

If you want an open-world alternative for a younger player, Lego Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight is set in an open-world Lego version of Gotham City, lets you use vehicles to get around and is available on PS5, Xbox Series X|S and PC. A Nintendo Switch 2 version arrives Sept. 18.

Two months from now, a code in a box turns into the most-watched launch in gaming. Until then, you’ve got 27 minutes of footage and a pre-load date circled on the calendar.