06-05-2025
Watch the new Grand Theft Auto VI trailer, somehow even more Florida-filled
Just days after announcing that the highly anticipated video game Grand Theft Auto VI would be pushed back to 2026, Rockstar Games drove fans wild with a highly cinematic new trailer for the game that racked up 20 million views in just a few hours. And as expected, it has a distinctly Florida vibe.
Sure, the game may say the action takes place in "Vice City" in Vice-Dale County in the state of Leonida, but it couldn't get more Miami if it tried.
The trailer is filled with beautiful seaside locations, palm trees, seagulls, scruffy houses on stilts, neon-covered downtown areas, white, orange and green license plates, alligators, beer, boats, fishing, iguanas, the indescribable golden sunlight of a Florida sunset, and a main character named, of course, Duval.
Fans have already noted references to a local hurricane, Gatorland, a pro football team jersey for the Vice City Manatees that looks a lot like a Dolphins jersey, and even a mention of Miami's most famous fictional serial killer, Dexter Morgan.
Watch the Grand Theft Auto VI trailer
GTA VI loaded with Florida settings
"The glamour, hustle, and greed of America captured in a single city," Rockstar Games' website says about Vice City. But GTA VI doesn't stop there. There are six locations to visit, each capturing the feel of a different part of the Sunshine State.
"Each neighborhood has something to offer, from the pastel art deco hotels and bright white sands of Ocean Beach, to the bustling panaderías of Little Cuba and the bootleg brands of the Tisha-Wocka flea market, out to the VC Port, the cruise ship capital of the world," Rockstar said.
Other locations include "Leonida Keys," the gator-filled "Grassrivers," "Port Cellhorn" filled with "cheap motels, shut-down attractions and empty strip malls" and a familiar-looking massive cruise ship, the industrial town "Ambrosia" that features a local sugar refinery and a biker gang, and "Mount Kalaga," a national park along the state's northern border.
This and the previous trailer also contain multiple references to real-life events from the Sunshine State. Fans noticed quick glimpses of viral Florida characters resembling the "Florida Joker," a naked man watering his garden, a woman twerking on top of a moving car and more.
The newest edition also features something new: two protagonists instead of one, a man and a woman.
What is Grand Theft Auto?
Started in 1997, Grand Theft Auto refers to a series of action-adventure video games that allow players to dive into the seedy underworld of different cities and rise through the criminal underworld through, basically, auto theft and lots of violence. They are known for their very adult themes, top-of-the-line animation, and A-lister voice actors including Ray Liotta, Dennis Hopper, Samuel L. Jackson, William Fichtner, James Woods, Debbie Harry, Axl Rose and Peter Fonda.
Until Minecraft tipped the scales, the decade-old Grand Theft Auto V was the best-selling video game of all time with nearly $8 billion in revenue since its release. It holds seven Guinness World Record titles, including the highest revenue generated by an entertainment product in 24 hours: $815.7 million in first-day sales.
What is Grand Theft Auto VI about?
Rockstar Games released the second trailer for its highly anticipated game Grand Theft Auto VI, set to launch on
According to the trailer description, "Jason and Lucia have always known the deck is stacked against them. But when an easy score goes wrong, they find themselves on the darkest side of the sunniest place in America, in the middle of a criminal conspiracy stretching across the state of Leonida — forced to rely on each other more than ever if they want to make it out alive."
Where is Vice City?
For many people around the world, their biggest Florida experience was tearing around the fictional Vice City at high speeds, stealing cars, shooting thugs at an alarming rate, and building their criminal empires in the video game "Grand Theft Auto: Vice City," the fourth main game in the wildly popular Grand Theft Auto series from Rockstar Games set in pretty much Miami.
"New York is busy and bustling, a real merchant city, whereas Miami is a party town, all sun and sea and sex, but with that same dark edge underneath," Rockstar producer Leslie Benzies said in a 2012 interview.
Apparently, people liked committing crimes in almost-Miami. "GTA: Vice City: was the best-selling video game of 2002 and won numerous awards. "Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories" followed two years later.
When does Grand Theft Auto VI launch?
The game, originally scheduled for 2025, is coming May 26, 2026, for PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S consoles.
(This story was updated to add new information.)
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Grand Theft Auto VI trailer drops. Welcome to not-Florida
