Everyone is copying Grand Theft Auto VI these days and the latest to borrow its style is, of all things, Shrek. A Microsoft Store page for an unannounced Shrek 2 remaster went live early by mistake and the trailer on it openly spoofs the GTA 6 trailer. The Rockstar Games effect has officially reached the swamp.
The page did not stay up long though. It surfaced on the Microsoft Store and Xbox before it went offline. While it was live, it credited Aspyr as the developer and spelled out what the remaster adds to the 2004 original. The visuals get a 4K pass with better textures, a cleaner interface and updated cutscenes, as well as two new modes, a Photo Mode and a Cheat Mode and co-op that runs up to four players, couch, online or a mix of both.
None of this is official yet. Aspyr and Microsoft have not announced the game, so everything here comes from a store page that should've not gone live until, presumably, the ID@Xbox Showcase on October 20.
What the leaked page showed
Detail | What the leak showed |
|---|---|
Developer | Aspyr |
Visuals | 4K, better textures, cleaner interface, updated cutscenes |
New modes | Photo Mode and Cheat Mode |
Co-op | Up to four players, couch, online or mixed |
Trailer | Spoofs the GTA 6 trailer style |
Expected reveal | Around the ID@Xbox Showcase on October 20 |
Everything here comes from a store page that went live early.
A Shrek 2 remaster trailer built to mimic the GTA 6 reveal is not a coincidence. It is the latest sign of how far the Rockstar effect has spread. We have watched real brands restyle their ads in GTA 6 colors, Call of Duty, Halo and Fall Guys copy the GTA 6 teaser image and fans have joined in too, including a satirical video that imagined GTA 6 launching as broken as Cyberpunk 2077.
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The joke works because GTA 6 has become so recognizable as a brand. The sunset palette, the licensed-song needle drop and the slow title card have become shorthand for a big reveal for the next Grand Theft Auto. Drop Shrek 2 into that template and everyone knows exactly what's about to happen next, which is the whole point of a spoof. It works because everyone is doing it.
All of this is happening weeks before GTA 6 itself arrives, when the trailer it is copying is still fresh and everywhere. A remaster of a two-decade-old movie tie-in is piggybacking on the most-watched game trailer of the year.
If the reveal comes at the ID@Xbox Showcase as expected, Aspyr gets to make the joke official. Either way, it says a lot that a Shrek 2 remaster thinks the fastest way to get noticed is to look like GTA 6.