Review · by site editor · Sep 1, 2026
Grand Theft Auto VI — Trailer Impressions
No review of the game yet. A review of what we have seen, with the disclaimers up front.
“Wait. Buy the standard edition at launch on the platform you already own.”
Pros
- + Trailers look as good as anything in the medium
- + Vice City as a setting is welcome
- + Dual-protagonist setup has obvious narrative potential
Cons
- − Zero gameplay shown publicly
- − PC release uncertain
- − Online roadmap unknown
This is not a review of Grand Theft Auto VI. The game is not out. Anyone who tells you they have a review of an unreleased Rockstar game is either lying to you or about to get sued. This is a review of the trailers.
What the trailer shows
A Vice City. Two protagonists. The cleanest first-person rendering of crowds in any game video I have seen. Lighting that does not look like a tech demo of any specific feature; it looks like cinematography. The grading is the lead character of the trailer in a way that says the team has been spending a lot of time with photography references.
What it does not show
Gameplay. Combat. The driving model. The mission structure. We do not know what the heist mechanics are. We do not know if the dual-protagonist setup is the GTA V swap-on-demand or a more linear point-of-view design. We do not know what the online side is going to be. We do not know the platforms-day-one beyond the announced ones.
What we can reasonably expect
A console launch. Probably PS5 and Xbox Series only at first, with PC trailing. That is the GTA pattern from V. If you are a PC player you should expect to wait. If you are willing to be patient, the PC release historically has been worth waiting for.
Pre-order, or wait?
Wait. Always wait. There is no Rockstar pre-order bonus on a single-player campaign that materially changes the game. If your goal is to play the campaign in week one, the standard edition on whichever platform you already own is fine.
Verdict
The trailers tell you that the game is going to look extraordinary and the world will be dense. They do not tell you it will play well, or that the heist structure has held, or that the moment-to-moment gameplay is a generational jump. We will know when we know. This site will be tracking real prices and real reviews when the game ships, and not before.