If you’ve spent any time in gaming communities over the last decade, you’ve almost certainly seen endless debates, leaks, and wild speculation about Grand Theft Auto 6. The franchise is one of the biggest in entertainment history, with GTA 5 selling over 200 million copies since its 2013 launch, so it’s no surprise fans have been hungry for news of the next installment. One of the most common questions new and long-time fans ask is when did they announce gta 6, since so many unofficial rumors and teases have blurred the line between what’s real and what’s fan fiction. This guide breaks down the full official timeline of the GTA 6 announcement, what was confirmed during the reveal, post-announcement updates, and common myths you can stop believing right now.
When Did They Announce GTA 6 Officially?
Rockstar first dropped a subtle development tease in February 2022, when they posted a short tweet that simply said “Many of you have been asking us about a next entry in the Grand Theft Auto series. We are pleased to confirm that active development for the next entry in the Grand Theft Auto series is well underway.” That tweet blew up, getting over 3 million likes in 24 hours, but it didn’t include a title, release date, or any footage, so most fans don’t count that as the official announcement. The actual full reveal happened on December 5, 2023, after a hacker leaked the first trailer online 24 hours earlier.
Rockstar rushed to post the official version on YouTube, where it hit 93 million views in its first 24 hours, breaking the record for the most viewed non-music video on the platform in a single day. I remember refreshing my YouTube feed every 10 minutes that day, because the leak was low quality and I wanted to see the official 4K version. The trailer gave us our first look at Lucia, the first female playable protagonist in a mainline GTA game since GTA 4’s The Ballad of Gay Tony expansion, and confirmed the game would be set in a modern, updated version of Vice City, the fan-favorite setting from 2002’s GTA Vice City.
Key Details Confirmed During the GTA 6 Announcement
The 90-second announcement trailer didn’t give away every detail of the game, but it did confirm a long list of core features that fans had been speculating about for years. Here are the biggest takeaways from the official reveal:
A lot of fans were surprised to hear Rockstar confirmed there will be no large-scale paid story DLC after GTA 6 launches, a departure from their approach with GTA 4 and Red Dead Redemption 2, both of which got critically acclaimed expansion packs. The studio said they plan to support the game with free ongoing content updates, similar to the way they’ve supported GTA Online for the last 10 years. The trailer leak that happened a day before the official reveal also led to a lot of misinformation spreading online, with some fans claiming the game would have a battle royale mode or NFT integration, none of which Rockstar has ever mentioned.
Post-Announcement Updates Fans Should Know About
After the December 2023 announcement, Rockstar went back to being pretty quiet about GTA 6, which is standard for the studio in the lead up to a big launch. In June 2024, they posted a short update on their website confirming that development was progressing as planned, and that the 2025 release window was still on track. Take-Two Interactive, Rockstar’s parent company, also mentioned in an earnings call that they expect GTA 6 to be the biggest entertainment launch of all time, which gives you an idea of how high expectations are for the game.
There are widespread rumors that a second full trailer will drop in late 2024, likely around the Game Awards in December, but Rockstar hasn’t confirmed that yet. I’ve seen dozens of fake “leaked second trailer” clips popping up on TikTok and Instagram Reels over the last few months, so always verify any GTA 6 news against Rockstar's official X (Twitter) account or official website to avoid getting your hopes up for fake features or release dates. Pre-orders are expected to open roughly 3 months before the official launch date, with multiple editions available: a standard edition with just the base game, a special edition with exclusive in-game outfits, vehicles, and side missions, and a collector's edition with physical merchandise like a Lucia statue, art book, and map of the game's open world.
Common Misconceptions About the GTA 6 Announcement
There are a lot of common misconceptions floating around about the GTA 6 announcement, so let’s clear up the biggest ones first. First, many fans confuse the February 2022 development confirmation tweet with the official announcement, but the official announcement only counts when Rockstar revealed the game's official title, first footage, setting, and release window in December 2023. Another common myth is that the massive 2022 gameplay leak, where a hacker posted 90+ minutes of early development footage online, forced Rockstar to announce the game earlier than planned. Rockstar addressed this directly after the 2023 reveal, saying that the leak didn’t impact their development or announcement timeline at all, and that they had always planned to reveal the game in late 2023.
A lot of fans also thought the announcement confirmed a PC release in 2025, but if you go back and watch the trailer, it only mentions PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S as 2025 release platforms. Rockstar has a history of releasing PC versions of their games 6 to 12 months after the console launch, so you can probably expect GTA 6 to hit PC sometime in 2026, but there’s no official word on that yet. There is also no mobile version of GTA 6 in development as of the official announcement, despite dozens of clickbait articles claiming otherwise. Rockstar has only ever released mobile ports of older GTA games, so it’s very unlikely we’ll see a mobile version of GTA 6 anytime soon.
So to recap, when did they announce GTA 6? The full official reveal with the first trailer, title, setting and release window dropped on December 5, 2023, after an initial development confirmation in February 2022. The announcement lived up to years of hype for most fans, giving us our first look at the biggest game of the decade, and setting the stage for a 2025 launch that will likely break every entertainment sales record in existence. If you want to stay up to date on all future GTA 6 news, make sure to follow Rockstar’s official social media channels, and avoid trusting random leaks from unverified accounts. I’ve been playing GTA games for over 20 years, and I can honestly say this is the most excited I’ve ever been for a game launch. I’m already clearing space on my PS5 hard drive, and I can’t wait to dive into the new Vice City with all of you when it launches.
