Even the menu music of Grand Theft Auto VI is circulating in a shared recording. A short clip of the background track from GTA VI's PS5 home screen is doing the rounds on the internet, drawing comparisons to Woody Jackson, the composer behind the moody score of Grand Theft Auto V.
Since June, the PlayStation 5's Welcome Tab and home screen have carried the GTA VI branding, a logo animation and this ambient music. It is part of Sony's push to make sure fans buy the game on its platform. PS5 owners with the themed screen have heard it for months. Everyone else is only now catching it through the shared recording.
The clip itself spread from a post crediting the account @Word, set over the official GTA VI key art. We later confirmed it ourselves as soon as the pre-load went live and confirmed the game's actual file size.
Leading up to the game's launch, Rockstar has confirmed that the French duo Justice is handling the game's original dynamic score, the moody, reactive music that shifts with the action. Their single "Flower in a Hurricane" with SZA, Tame Impala and King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard gave a taste of that side, separate from the 34-artist Grand Theft Auto VI: The Album of licensed music. This home-screen piece sounds like the other half, the classic Rockstar atmosphere Woody Jackson built his name on. If both are in the game, GTA 6 could have the richest score the series has had.
This shouldn't surprise anyone. Rockstar has always understood menu music. The themes in GTA V and Red Dead Redemption 2 set a mood before you ever press start. A home screen that greets you with a proper piece of score is exactly the kind of detail the studio sweats. It is only one track, but it is the sort of touch that has always set Rockstar's titles apart.
What we know about GTA VI's music
Piece | Who | Status |
|---|---|---|
Original dynamic score | Justice | Confirmed by Rockstar |
"Flower in a Hurricane" | SZA, Tame Impala, King Gizzard | Released single |
Grand Theft Auto VI: The Album | 34 artists | Released, 34 tracks |
PS5 home-screen music | Unknown, fans say Woody Jackson | Not officially credited |
GTA 6's sound is shaping up as Justice's reactive score alongside a classic Rockstar atmosphere, with the home-screen tease hinting at the latter.
The Woody Jackson question is interesting. He isn't officially confirmed for it. A home-screen track that sounds this much like him adds fuel to the speculation. However, until Rockstar publishes the full credits, the comparison stays exactly that. The radio side is just as unsettled. Cara Delevingne booked two weeks off for the launch and voiced DJ Cara in GTA V but nothing confirms her, or any other host, returning for the sequel.
The recording is circulating as GTA 6 pre-loads begin, starting in New Zealand, so for a lot of players the home screen is about to become a real place they visit every day. Soon enough, PS5 owners will not need a leaked clip, they will boot up and hear it themselves, the first music of a game eleven years in the making before a single mission starts.