A microsecond lighting glitch has sparked hilarious reactions to the GTA 6 trailer across social media.

When Rockstar Games dropped its second trailer for Grand Theft Auto 6, fans (including us!) were quick to dissect every frame with microscopic precision. For most of them, it was a quest to find Easter eggs and other hidden details, but for others, it was to find a flaw in the immaculate trailer, an effort that appears to have yielded results - and the result is hilarious.

Eagle-eyed viewers spotted what appears to be a minor technical error in a scene featuring Jason, one of the game's protagonists. In the brief moment where Jason leans out of a car window to fire a handgun, light mysteriously illuminates his face before the actual muzzle flash from the gunshot occurs.

The scene lasts barely a second, but in the hypercritical world of gaming fandom, that was enough to open the floodgates of playful mockery across social media. "Light appears before gunshot," captioned Reddit user Cat_With_Banana96, who shared three sequential screenshots to showcase the lighting inconsistency. What followed was a deluge of comical outrage, intended for_GTA_fans with a sense of humor.

The comments section quickly filled with deliberately over-the-top reactions like

  • "That's it, pre-order cancelled"
  • "Literally unplayable definitely won’t be buying this game is so unrealistic ugh"
  • "They postponed the release of gta 6 for this game breaking glitch"
  • "I’m calling, this’ll be the next Concord"

The second trailer for_GTA 6_ was a record-shattering success, amassing an incredible 475 million views across platforms within its first 24 hours. This made it the most-watched trailer for any entertainment product ever. However, the recent announcement that the game's release has been delayed until May of next year has dampened some of that enthusiasm.

The lighthearted mockery of this meaningless visual error may be fans' way of coping with this disappointing news. The jabs also carry a subtle critique, considering Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick has repeatedly stated that Rockstar's aim is to achieve "perfection" with this release. When executives set the bar that high, even the tiniest imperfections are bound to draw attention.

Still, most fans remain overwhelmingly impressed with the trailer's overall quality. The three-minute teaser has evoked a lot of excitement for the game's story, which appears to center around Jason and Lucia in a mysterious crime storyline.