Rockstar Games has released the launch trailer for Grand Theft Auto VI, the last big piece of marketing before the game arrives on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S on November 19. The 90-second video went up on Rockstar's official YouTube channel on October 15, just over a month before launch. It's built around new music from the French electronic duo Justice, who also wrote the game's original score.
What the trailer shows
Unlike the slow-burn reveal trailers that came before it, this one is a straight pitch for the story. It reintroduces Jason and Lucia, the pair at the centre of the game, for anyone who hasn't followed every drop since the first reveal. Rockstar's own description of the video sets out the premise more plainly than any of its earlier marketing has: Jason and Lucia have always known the deck is stacked against them, an easy score goes wrong, and they end up caught in a criminal conspiracy that stretches across the state of Leonida, forced to lean on each other harder than ever to get out alive.
That's the clearest description yet of the game's main plot. Earlier trailers mostly set the mood, with Vice City's beaches, its social-media chaos and the couple's relationship. This one frames the whole thing as a heist that goes wrong.
You can watch it on Rockstar Games' YouTube channel.
Justice scores Vice City
The bigger reveal sits underneath the pictures. Justice, the duo of Gaspard Augé and Xavier de Rosnay best known for Cross and Woman, composed the original score for Grand Theft Auto VI, and the launch trailer is the first time most players will hear what that sounds like. It's a notable choice for a series whose music identity has long rested on licensed radio. A Justice score suggests Rockstar wants the missions themselves, rather than just the car stereo, to have a sound of their own.
The track in the trailer is a new Justice single, "Flower in a Hurricane", featuring Tame Impala, SZA, and King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard. That's an unusual line-up even by blockbuster-soundtrack standards. The song will appear on Grand Theft Auto VI: The Album, the official soundtrack, which is available to pre-save now on the major streaming services and to pre-order on vinyl and CD.
The music push so far
Music has been one of the main threads of Rockstar's run-up to launch. The album was announced in September with 34 original tracks, and Rockstar has since begun naming the in-game radio stations, including the return of Flash FM. The launch trailer ties those pieces together: a score from Justice for the story, a licensed and original soundtrack across the radio dial, and an album that releases alongside the game.
Five weeks to go
A launch trailer usually means the marketing cycle is in its final stretch, and the date is fixed at November 19, 2026, on PS5 and Xbox Series X|S. PC isn't among the launch platforms, so anyone planning to play on day one needs one of those two consoles.
The launch ends one of the longest waits in the medium. Grand Theft Auto V came out in 2013, and the sequel's release window has moved more than once since its 2023 reveal. With the launch trailer out and the soundtrack lined up, everything Rockstar has done this month points to November 19 holding.
