Open-world action-adventure games have always been the leaders of the video game industry. Every year, video game publishers please their audience with fresh, intriguing, and captivating titles. What makes the genre so popular, in my opinion, is the mystery behind every game’s setting. Imagine buying yourself a fresh release of Assassin’s Creed, Fallout, or any other open-world game series. You come home, fire up your PC or console, start the game, and are immediately placed in a brand new, unfamiliar world with its own rules, characters, and story. You realize that what you see on screen is so vastly different from the bleak and mundane reality you live in. You make your first moves in the game, finish the first couple of quests, and in the blink of an eye, unbeknownst to you, you’re completely hooked.

It took Rockstar Games 10 years to finally shed some light on the development of the sixth release in the Grand Theft Auto series, scheduled to become available in 2025, after the record-breaking release of GTA V. In 2013, after much anticipation from the series’ fans, GTA V quickly topped all charts and found its way to every other console on the planet. The game played to everyone’s expectations — it turned out to be fun, engaging, and more importantly, it gave players freedom to do whatever they wanted within the boundaries of the game’s physics — from jumping over a skyscraper on a motorcycle to flying a helicopter upside-down under a bridge. The Grand Theft Auto series has “recklessness” as its defining trait, and based on the most recent trailer released in December, GTA VI is about to be just as reckless as a game can be.

You usually won’t find too much information on the Internet about a game before its announcement. Just like Apple iPhones every year, one can only imagine what the next release will bring, guesstimating the product’s price, functionality, and the looks from occasional leaks. GTA VI, however, has already been announced at the beginning of December 2023. Released ahead of schedule due to a leak, the GTA VI trailer got 93 million views in 24 hours, earning its spot as the most viewed game reveal in YouTube history. The trailer’s release was the biggest event on the Internet at the time, proving just how much the game was anticipated.

GTA VI is set in fictional Vice City, state of Leonida, inspired by Miami and Florida respectively. Vice City was featured in GTA Vice City in 2002 — it was one of the most popular semi-open-world games, played by myself and all of my peers at the time. The 90-second trailer gave us a good feel for the game’s atmosphere, narrative, and sense of humor. First and foremost, we know that the game’s story will revolve around the “Bonnie and Clyde” duo of Lucia and her, I guess, boyfriend. The first 10 seconds show Lucia in an orange jumpsuit talking to a prison officer, hinting at the fact that the story will either start or end with Lucia being detained, or quite possibly, both. The video then transitions into showing hot sunny weather over the Atlantic Ocean, a vibrant beach, and skyscrapers of the Vice City. We see a lot of references to the meme-inspired wild and crazy atmosphere reigning over Leonida — a convertible speeding through the downtown, a group of friends cutting through ocean waves on motor boats near an industrial port, Franklins flying around in a nightclub, a half-naked lady twerking on a car’s rooftop, and crocodiles deciding to join a pool party. The scene is chaotic, and it adds nothing but allure to the game series’ image.

In my opinion, it looks like the game will be worth the wait and hype. For the fans of the GTA series, I believe that the upcoming release will be just as big of a step forward as all previous parts were for their predecessors. For the newcomers, GTA VI will serve as a wild, fun, unabashed introduction to the world of action-adventure games, role-play, and absolutely engaging insanity. Rockstar Games has a reputation of not disappointing with their AAA releases, and it looks like the public is more than ready for yet another industry-changing blockbuster.