Rockstar prematurely released their trailer for Grand Theft Auto VI hours before its release. And they’re not too happy about it.
As reported by Dexerto and Video Games Chronicle, several of Rockstar’s staff expressed their feelings about being forced to release the trailer hours before schedule on Twitter.
On the tweet where they shared the trailer, was the message: “Our trailer has leaked so please watch the real thing on YouTube.”
Rockstar Senior Gameplay Animator Javier Altman had this message in a now deleted tweet:
“This fucking sucks. I was hoping to watch this for the first time tomorrow along with my fellow teammates and coworkers. I feel we deserved that moment.”
Apparently he had also later tweeted that he was “Literally crying tears of joy right now at the response everyone is having. I can’t believe I get to be a part of this.”
In the one tweet that is still up, Javier said: “I’m so proud of what we are making. Enjoy the trailer, everyone.”
Associate Principal Animator Amy Hartley, also on Twitter, shared this message:
“Little bit earlier than expected, but here it is folks! So proud of everyone working on this game, it’s going to be amazing”.
Finally, QA tester Dan Willey could simply sigh.
Now, some fans may be questioning what the big deal even is, but there actually is a difference when the company controls a game’s hype cycle, versus when leakers ruin it. Game companies actually do spend millions in marketing, not because they are worried some gamers don’t know their game is coming, but because they are aiming to grab as much interest from fans, that will translate to game sales.
It’s not that they’re worried that this game will be a flop. Rather, Rockstar does have to make real estimates of how much copies they will be able to sell. They are accountable to their investors for that number, and the corresponding profits. In turn, that affects the entire system which allows Rockstar to stay in business and pay their employees.
Some gamers might think that leaking a trailer is some kind of sticking it to the man, since Rockstar is a giant corporation. The truth is, because of this system of accountability and expectations, every rank and file employee, from the CEO down to the testers, are potentially harmed by leaks.
Grand Theft Auto VI is scheduled for release in 2025 on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S.
