Fans Think Rockstar Is Filming a Real-Life GTA 6 Trailer in Miami

Several clips of colorful supercars and camera crews have fans convinced Rockstar Games is shooting a real-life trailer for Grand Theft Auto VI. Given how much of the real world Rockstar has already turned into Vice City, it is not impossible that this will happen and it would certainly break new ground for how Rockstar makes its trailers.

The spark is an October 20 post from the account GTAVI_Rodion, showing two bright supercars, one orange, one in a pink and purple livery, driving across a Miami bridge with the skyline behind them. The caption said that filming of "a separate video or trailer" was underway. It is one of many clips from the same stretch, including convoys of GTA-style cars, camera crews and production activity, all against the real marketing already in place, including but not limited to the Vice City signage, beach gear and blimps.

The theory doing the rounds is that Rockstar released the in-game launch trailer early on purpose, to clear space for a real-world follow-up that shows how closely the game mirrors actual Miami. However, the cars and crews could just as easily be for short social clips, a West Coast Customs build, a TV spot or general campaign footage.

Either way, Rockstar has, as they've always done, said nothing.

The reason why we're saying a real-life trailer would break new ground for Rockstar is because they've never done it before. Every main Grand Theft Auto trailer has used in-game footage, GTA 6 included. The launch trailer, the Extended Look, Trailer 1 and Trailer 2 were all built and made in Rockstar's engine. In the past, Rockstar has run TV commercials that cut in-game footage into short spots, done heavy real-world research to get the look right and it is running the biggest real-world marketing push in its history right now. What it has not done is release a live-action film as an official trailer. Again, a real-life GTA 6 trailer would be new ground.

For all Rockstar and GTA has done over the years, it's easy to misremember a time or two when they made a live-action commercial, but they haven't.

There was that live-action Trevor Philips commercial for Grand Theft Auto V that you may have seen, but it was from Corridor Digital, a YouTube channel whose 2016 short "GTA VR" had actor Steven Ogg reprising Trevor in a polished comedy sketch. Ogg also did live-action Old Spice ads around then. Neither the sketch nor the Old Spice ads was a Rockstar production. The myth of a real-life Rockstar trailer is what it is, a myth.

None of this rules out a real-life or hybrid promo. The scale of the Miami campaign is unlike anything Rockstar has done, so a live-action piece built around the city would fit the moment.

In the meantime, as we wait for GTA 6 to arrive on November 19, we can at least enjoy the show Rockstar and Take-Two Interactive have and are putting on for us, with new premieres happening every Thursday. Grand Theft Auto VI: An Extended Look kicked it off on August 27. After that came a PlayStation hardware option, public hardware pre-orders, the soundtrack playlist, the Collector's Edition box, the ESRB rating on the store pages, then the radio stations with new screenshots, then the launch trailer on October 15. This streak is why you should circle the preload Thursday on November 12 and the Thursdays before launch on your calendars.

If Rockstar is going to surprise us with a new trailer, this Thursday would be the obvious place to look.