The first trailer for Grand Theft Auto 6 is coming on Tuesday (Photo by Jakub Porzycki/NurPhoto via … [+]
Trailers for upcoming movies and video games can quickly rack up views online, but this past weekend, the announcement for the trailer for the still-in-development Grand Theft Auto 6 from Rockstar Games actually received more than 165 million views on X—the social media platform formerly known as Twitter.
The post also had 1.9 million “likes”—which were not for the game’s actual trailer, but rather just a static image that announced that “Trailer 1” would be debuted on Tuesday, December 5, 2023!
One can only imagine how many likes the subsequent trailer might receive.
Given that the video game industry is built around the concept that imitation is the most sincere form of flattery, several other game development studios also jumped on the bandwagon and tweeted out images that parodied the Rockstar Games announcement.
These included Raven Software promoting the launch of season 1 for its Call of Duty: Warzone; while Sea of Thieves developer Rare also hyped that new details for the game will be revealed later this week. None of these had quite the impact of the original, yet, the announcement that a new trailer would be dropped Monday for Halo Infinite still was viewed 26.5 million times.
GTA 6—It’s A Really Huge Deal
The fact that a single image promoting a trailer has been liked so many times shouldn’t come as a surprise explained Roger Entner, technology and game industry analyst at Recon Analytics.
“It means people are really excited about GTA6. It’s been 10 years since GTA5 launched and people hunger for a new iteration,” Entner noted.
“The anticipation for this game has been building for so long,” added social media and brand marketing pundit Scott Steinberg. “It is a cultural touchstone for many generations.”
Worldwide sales for Grand Theft Auto V have exceeded 190 million units since it was released in 2013, making it one of the best-selling video games of all time. Total sales for the GTA franchise have also surpassed 405 million units to date.
The fact that nearly two million liked the trailer’s announcement could be seen as an early holiday present for Rockstar Games, and highlights that X is still a platform that can build up the hype for the latest pop culture releases.
“It shows the overall power of social media in terms of driving a conversation with something as little as one image,” Steinberg continued. “It also shows how starved gamers are for information about one of the most recognizable franchises in video game history.”
Portent Of Strong Sales
The number of views could also serve as a portent for how well the game could do. Many of the likes were likely from long-time fans of the series, but it suggests that a lot of people are eager to see even a preview of the next chapter of the series.
“We should expect GTA6 to break records, and I wouldn’t be the least bit surprised if we see some eyebrow-raising stats to come,” Steinberg suggested. “Yet, the fact remains that the launch of all big games is often overhyped. And this is a year that really hasn’t had any big announcements. This could be something for gamers to really get excited about.”
Of course, it will be a while before anyone actually gets to play GTA6. But building hype early and often is what the game industry does best—sometimes better than making actual games!