Rockstar has begun lifting the lid on GTA 6, releasing a new trailer today that gives a deeper look at its pair of protagonists and the setting of Leonida.
The game’s website has also been updated to show off its cast of characters and locations – Vice City, and beyond.
Judging by its sexy trailer, it looks like GTA 6 is set to be something of a love story, but there’s a strong music industry theme too.
First up, our protagonists are Jason Duval and Lucia Caminos. The hunky Jason is a former army soldier turned drug runner, while Lucia is fresh out of Leonida Penitentiary, having previously lived in Liberty City with her family.
Both characters seem to be seeking a way out of their current lives, leading to the events of GTA 6.
Next up is Jason’s friend Cal Hampton described as living “at the low tide of America and happy there”. He appears to be something of a lovable fool.
Cal is also an associate of Brian Heder, a drug runner “from the golden age of smuggling in the Keys” who owns a boat yard with his third wife, Lori. Brian is allowing Jason to live rent-free at one of his properties, as long as he helps out with some jobs. I imagine it’s a slippery slope for Jason, setting up his meeting with Lucia.
Then there are the music industry characters. Boobie Ike is a local legend of Vice City, owning a recording studio, a strip club, and real estate as part of a grand empire. “The club money pay for the studio, and the drug money pay for it all,” he says.
Boobie has partnered with aspiring music mogul Dre’Quan Priest for the Only Raw Records label. Dre’Quan is “more of a hustler than a gangster”, though the music industry has always been his goal.
Only Raw Records has signed a pair of troublesome female rappers, Bae-Luxe and Roxy aka Real Dimez. They are “girls with the savvy to turn their time shaking down local dealers into cold, hard cash via spicy rap tracks and a relentless social media presence”.
The GTA games have always been recognised for their brilliant soundtracks – shout out to Vice City’s classic 80s tracks – but I’m particularly excited to see the developers lampoon the current state of the music industry and its reliance on social media. We already saw elements of that in the first trailer.
The last character introduced is Raul Bautista, a “seasoned bank robber always on the hunt for talent”. No guesses for which pair of desperate anti-heroes he’s about to hire.
Rockstar has also hinted at some of the locations we’ll be exploring in GTA 6.
Vice City – a spoof of Miami – is of course at the core of Leonida, representing the “glamour, hustle, and greed of America captured in a single city”. It contains the white sands of Ocean Beach, the “bustling panaderías” of Little Cuba, the “bootleg brands” of the Tisha-Wocka flea market, and the VC Port.
Further out are the Leonida Keys, where life “isn’t flashy but it’s easy” – presumably this is where Jason starts out. Grassrivers are the “untamable jewel of Leonida’s crown”, known for their gators and other “weirder discoveries”.
Port Gellhorn is full of cheap motels and shut-down attractions, presumably a spin on Florida’s notorious theme parks and tourist areas. Ambrosia is the “heart of Leonida” where “American industry and old school values still reign supreme” – it includes a sugar refinery offering jobs and a dominating biker gang.
The final location is Mount Kalaga National Park, a national landmark on the state’s northern border full of hunting and fishing spots, off-road trails, and hillbilly mystics.
How big will GTA 6’s map end up? We don’t know yet, but judging by these locations it’s going to be expansive.
GTA 6 was recently delayed from later this year, and will now be released on 26th May 2026.
This new trailer is the latest look at the game since the previous trailer, released in December 2023. Hopefully it won’t be such a long wait for more.
