It may sound like an exaggeration but we think it’s fair to say that the upcoming Grand Theft Auto 6 is one of the most anticipated video games, if not pieces of media, the world has ever experienced. Its predecessor, GTA 5, is the second best-selling video game of all time, so of course the hype is there. But with so much hype and a confirmed release this year, where is all the marketing?
We’re quickly approaching May, we’re over a third of the way into 2025, and the only piece of real GTA 6 marketing we’ve had is a trailer from December 2023. Yes, it’s been about a year and a half since we heard anything about a game that’s definitely meant to be releasing this year. It may seem like a marketing blunder, but a recent Bloomberg interview with publisher Take-Two Interactive’s CEO Strauss Zelnick confirms that there’s a reason for the wait – and it’s all about that intense anticipation.
The developers at Rockstar and Take-Two are both aware of how anticipated GTA 6 is, and that’s why they aren’t showing it. As Zelnick puts it, “we want to maintain the anticipation […] we found the better thing to do is provide marketing materials relatively close to the release window […] and balance the excitement”. In short, Take-Two knows how long the world has waited for GTA 6, and so to prevent teasing us too hard and creating unobtainable levels of hype, they’re intentionally waiting until they’re closer to giving us the game to start showing it off.
What do you think of Take-Two’s marketing approach to Grand Theft Auto 6? Do you like the idea of saving marketing until it’s close to release to prevent an uncontrollable and somewhat unachievable hype train? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below, and keep your eyes on GameLuster for more breaking gaming news, including coverage of the upcoming GTA 6!
