385 days to go...Rockstar shows GTA VI for the first time since December 2023
PLUS: Bungie stymied in its legal defense of Destiny 2, but not because of "vaulting"
By the time I knew there was a new trailer live for Grand Theft Auto VI, it had been online for 12 minutes. On YouTube, it already had nearly 33,000 comments.
People are hungry for Rockstar’s next big open-world game, which is now 385 days away from its recently scheduled May 26, 2026 release.
Some takeaways from the trailer:
While we already knew that GTA VI is a crime story about two lovers, Jason Duval and Lucia Caminos, in Rockstar’s faux Florida of Leonida, this trailer shows more of the supporting cast and much more of the state.
The trailer shows the game’s platforms as PS5 and Xbox Series X and S. There is no mention of Switch 2. Nintendo’s upcoming hybrid device has at least one current-gen-only game announced for it—Ubisoft’s PS5/Xbox Series adventure Star Wars Outlaws. But the system might simply be out of the technical range for what Rockstar is making here.
Fine print at the end of the trailer says the footage shown was “captured on PS5,” suggesting that the impressive visuals of the game aren’t dependent on PC specs that excelled those of the announced console platforms. (Unanswered questions: No reply from Take Two or Sony about if that verbiage indicates Sony has a marketing deal with GTA V; no reply from Rockstar about whether the game was captured using the specs of a vanilla PS5 vs a PS5 Pro).
There’s a Pride reference in one of the game’s official screenshots: a billboard with a rainbow and the line: “Proud sponsor of Diversity n Treats.” That could be read as Rockstar mocking fake corporate diversity, but it also stands out, given how the appearances of LGBT themes in other big budget games have elicited hateful reactions.
This second GTA VI trailer was Rockstar’s second-ever post on Threads; it has yet to post on BlueSky.
One more thing: The first GTA VI trailer had lots of visual echoes of Rockstar’s first GTA V trailer.
There aren not as many for the games’ respective second trailers, but at least GTA V trailer #2 and the new GTA VI trailer #2 both go from …
… car-in-driveway at 8 seconds to…
… shirtless-male-protagonist-wearing-shorts at 11 seconds.
Traditions!
Item 2: From the courts
A judge in Louisiana has rejected Bungie’s attempt to secure an early dismissal of a writer’s claim that the studio plagiarized them when crafting the story for Destiny 2.
The judge said Bungie’s request for her to compare writer Matthew Kelsey Martineau’s online writings with lengthy fan-assembled video clips and Destinypedia entries was beyond the scope of what she could feasibly rule on at this stage of the case, prior to any trial. (Read the ruling here.)
While it has been reported that the judge denied Bungie’s request because the studio had “vaulted” the portion of the game in question (and had to rely on submitting third-party YouTube videos), the text of the ruling makes clear that wasn’t the issue. Twice she writes that “[e]ven if the Court had access to a complete version of Destiny 2,” a comparison at this stage would be more complicated than in other cases cited by Bungie. A comparison at this stage would necessitate a “fact-finder,” which the court can’t be, she wrote.
In a footnote, she added that:
“this case features two nuanced science fiction/fantasy works. For the Court to adequately assess the similarity of both works and whether Plaintiff’s Original Work and Destiny 2 share only unprotectable ideas, elements, and characters, expert assistance may be helpful.”
Nintendo is suing peripheral maker Genki in California for trademark infringement, unfair competition, and false advertising in light of the latter claiming in December that it had access to the then-unannounced Switch 2, showing mock-ups of the then-unrevealed unit and promoting, since December, that its products would be compatible with the system. (Read the lawsuit here.)
Genki’s reaction: “We’re taking it seriously and working with legal counsel to respond thoughtfully.”
Nintendo’s suit also includes this bit of Switch 2 history, zeroing in on when development of the device began: “Shortly after the release of the Nintendo Switch, Nintendo began planning its successor console, with formal hardware development beginning around 2019.”
Apple has officially appealed last week’s ruling in federal court, in which a judge 1) barred the company from charging a fee for app-related purchases made outside of iOS and 2) asked United States Attorney in the Northern District of California to open a criminal investigation into Apple executives’ conduct in court.
Item 3: In brief…
🤔 Microsoft is bringing another of its premiere franchises, Gears of War, to PlayStation via the August release of Gears of War: Reloaded, a remastered version of the original, 2006 Epic-developed longtime Xbox/PC exclusive. Reloaded will also ship for PC and Xbox, of course. (No mention of Switch 2 here, either; though Microsoft hasn’t confirmed any Switch 2 games yet. Correction - May 7, 2:18pm ET: Microsoft, via Activision, has announced Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3 + 4, for Switch 2.)
Note: This isn’t the first time a Gears game has been in development for PlayStation. In 2020, I reported about Epic’s scuttled experiment with bringing 2011’s Gears of War 3 to PlayStation 3 and the version that eventually leaked its way to a hacker known as PixelButts.
😮 The three best-selling games on PlayStation in April, in the U.S., Canada and Europe, were all from Microsoft studios, as noted by Eurogamer.
🎮 A professor and consultant who was harassed online due to her work on Assassin’s Creed Shadows ignored a recommendation by the game’s publisher, Ubisoft, to ignore the harassers, and instead opened a dialogue with some of them, eliciting some apologies, the AP reports.
✝️ 75,000 people are playing, Fantapapa, a web game about picking the next Pope, PC Gamer and Euro News report.
Minor correction if it counts (?) is that Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3+4 is announced for Switch 2 support. That is the only game from Microsoft/Activision/Xbox whatever so far though
Love what the Dartmouth professor did, but it's shameful and disgraceful that Ubisoft, a multimillion, international company couldn't do more for her then say, "don't respond," especially when they HAD to know segments of their fanbase were going to go super toxic.