Grand Theft Auto 6 was always going to be a game-changer, but no one expected the game to do it this soon.
Leave it up to Rockstar Games to go viral and start a new trend with an announcement of an announcement.
The recent confirmation that the first Grand Theft Auto 6 trailer will be released soon has ignited (even more) excitement across the internet, sparking a viral meme trend. This only affirms the unrelenting star power of the Grand Theft Auto series, the fifth-best-selling video game franchise in the world.
Rockstar Games' strategy for unveiling the much-anticipated GTA 6 teaser, set for December 5, has resonated beyond the usual confines of traditional game marketing, becoming a cultural phenomenon in its own right.
When Rockstar shared the simple yet evocative teaser image for GTA 6 on its social media platforms, the internet's response was to erupt in sheer joy. The poster, showcasing palm trees and a sunset in the iconic GTA style, immediately became a focal point for speculation and hype.
It even got to a point that people started talking about the peculiarly-placed trio of birds on the background.
In any case, the teaser image quickly amassed an astonishing 133.1 million views and 1.7 million likes on X (formerly known as Twitter), as of the time of the writing, signaling the immense anticipation surrounding the next GTA game.

The ripple effect of this announcement was far-reaching. Now, major titles such as Call of Duty: Warzone, Fall Guys, and Halo Infinite rapidly joined the trend, recreating Rockstar's announcement style for their updates or new releases.
This kind of flattering imitation, while acknowledging the massive influence of GTA, also cleverly leveraged the prevailing hype to promote their games. This phenomenon highlights the fact that, it's not just fans that are keeping a close eye on every move made by Rockstar, but the rest of the gaming industry — fellow giants, included.