GTA 6 Wasn't Fully Formed When Trailer 1 Dropped, Rockstar Boss Says

Remember when the first GTA 6 trailer dropped in December 2023 and we all collectively lost our minds? Well, according to Rockstar North boss Rob Nelson, the game wasn't exactly "fully formed" back then. In a new interview with Trois Couleurs, Nelson opened up about the development process and how that iconic trailer came together.

He explained that Tom Petty's "Love is a Long Road," which soundtracked the trailer, served as a "mission statement" for the team. "With the first trailer for this game, the Tom Petty song was a real sort of mission statement," Nelson said. "You don’t have the game fully formed, you have an idea of what it’s going to be, but you really have to push hard to pull that together." He added that when the team pulls it off, it's "made with everything that you’ve got" and becomes a "guiding light of what it needs to feel like." So basically, that trailer was as much a rallying cry for the devs as it was a hype bomb for us.

Nelson also shared how the team approached setting the game in Vice City (aka Miami). One of the first things they did after deciding on the location was to actually go there. "We'll go there. And just feel it, and go out and just drive around," he said. "Almost always on our own at very first, just a handful of people, and we’ll take a ton of pictures, and soak as much of it up as we can and see what speaks to us and start to talk about it and share ideas about what we want to incorporate." Talk about dedication to getting the vibe right.

As for when you can actually play it, GTA 6 is set to launch on November 19 for PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S. And if you're wondering about the hype, it's already massive: according to SensorTower's data, the game has sold 5 million copies via preorders, generating more than $500 million in revenue. That's before it's even out.

Rockstar is also partnered with Sony for GTA 6, and part of that deal includes a GTA 6-themed DualSense controller. It goes on sale September 10 at 7 AM PT / 10 AM ET for $85. So if you're looking to complete your setup, mark your calendar.

It's pretty wild to think that the game we're all waiting for wasn't even fully baked when that first trailer hit. But it also shows just how much work goes into making something this big. The team clearly poured everything into it, and that Tom Petty track wasn't just for us—it was for them, too.

What do you think about Nelson's comments? Does it make you more excited to see the final product? And will you be picking up that GTA 6 DualSense controller? Let us know in the comments!