Ex-Rockstar Lead Says No to More GTA 6 Trailers

Grand Theft Auto 4 turned 17 today, in case you didn't know, and former Rockstar North lead developer Obbe Vermeij just let gamers in on a little bit of history behind the 2008 title and his thoughts about Grand Theft Auto 6.

In his initial post on X, Vermeij confirmed that it wasn't until July 2007 that Rockstar Games realized that they wouldn't be able to release GTA 4 in time, which is why they delayed it to April 29, 2008 from its original release date of October 16, 2007. He then added that the official announcement of GTA GTA 6's release date might not happen until August.

In a follow up comment, Vermeij then doubled down on his initial comments about whether or not there should be a new GTA 6 trailer.

In his words, "If it was my call I wouldn’t release any additional trailers. There is more than enough hype around VI and the element of surprise is going to make the release only bigger as an event."

Vermeij then called this a "boss move" in a reply to a fan on his original tweet.

Over a decade removed from his days with Rockstar, Vermeij is no more of a fan than the rest of us. The only difference? His experience with the Grand Theft Auto franchise means that his comments provide valuable insight into what usually goes on behind the scenes of some of our favorite games.

The fact that Vermeij believes that there's no need for a second GTA 6 trailer to market the upcoming sixthquel is interesting.

After all, Take-Two Interactive has already allotted a significant amount of money to market Mafia: The Old Country , Borderlands 4 , and GTA 6 later this year.

What if Rockstar went completely silent about GTA 6, dropping only its release date before going back to work and letting word of mouth do much of the marketing work for them?

Normally, you'd call any developer insane for even attempting to do this, but this is Rockstar we're talking about.

If Bethesda can shadow drop The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion and sell millions of copies on the week of its launch, can you imagine just how much more GTA 6 could sell based on its current level of hype?

Everyone from influencers, to Formula One and even the Florida Highway Patrol are jumping on the GTA 6 bandwagon even though it's been over a year since the first GTA 6 trailer came out.

It's hard to imagine just how much more hyped audiences can get for a game expected to make over a billion in revenue on its launch day.

Sure, a new GTA 6 trailer would be nice, but what if Take-Two spent all its money putting GTA 6 on as many eyes as possible instead? It would certainly lower the risk of leaks undermining the potential impact of the trailer, which is what may have happened back in December 2023.

Whether Rockstar follows Vermeij's suggestion and holds back additional trailers until the game's release or eventually caves to the overwhelming fan demand for more information, it's clear that GTA 6 is in a position to be a cultural event of such magnitude that other game studios are already planning their release schedules to avoid being overshadowed by it.

For now, fans will have to continue theorizing, analyzing, and waiting for that next piece of official information, which may or may not come on May 15, about what is undoubtedly the most anticipated video game of the decade.