The trailer was released by Rockstar Games in the wake of a significant delay announcement that moved the release date of Grand Theft Auto 6 from an undefined date in 2025 to May 26, 2026.
GTA 6 Trailer 2 is the second trailer to GTA 6, uploaded nearly two years following the release of the first trailer in December 2023.
History
Following the record-shattering debut of the first trailer in December 2023—which amassed nearly 200 million views within its first 72 hours and continued to break records for months thereafter — expectations for the follow - up were extraordinarily high. Rockstar then faced an unusual challenge when the first trailer was leaked ahead of its scheduled reveal.
Dropped without prior warning on a Tuesday, the trailer arrived just days after Rockstar confirmed a delay for GTA 6.
Rather than allowing the delay to dominate the news cycle, Rockstar shifted the conversation with a major content drop, releasing a trailer that has since become a subject of intense analysis.
Structure
The footage foregrounds the relationship between Lucia and her partner, Jason Duval, positioning them as a “criminal power couple”. The trailer eschews overt references to real-world events (such as the infamous “Florida Joker” that featured in the first trailer), instead opting for subtle callbacks and homages, such as Jason Duval wearing a shirt identical to that of Tommy Vercetti, the protagonist of Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, while introducing key locations and other characters.
The trailer's use of saturated color palettes, dynamic camera work, and densely layered environments conjures a sense of place that is both familiar and radically reimagined. The trailer also hints at the return of "RPG-lite elements" from Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, with a gameplay structure geared towards greater player agency and character customization.
Reception
Fans and critics alike praised the trailer’s visual fidelity, narrative depth, and the promise of a richly detailed open world. The trailer's record-breaking viewership in its first 24 hours reflects this.
In the days following its release, many couldn't help but throw praise at Rockstar for the improved level of detail and graphics in the second trailer, with the studio later confirming that the footage was taken straight from the PlayStation 5 version of the game.
