I Wasn't Excited For GTA 6 At All, But One Detail In The Second Trailer Changed My Mind

After a ridiculous amount of waiting and twiddling thumbs, Grand Theft Auto 6 fans finally have a new trailer to fawn over. It is a pretty momentous day for the millions of people who’ve been eagerly anticipating this game and likely lamented when it was delayed until 2026. However, for the few of us who don’t really care about Grand Theft Auto 6, despite being told that it will be the biggest thing to happen to gaming in a long time, this trailer marks yet another distraction from sinking more hours into games we actually want to play.

Unfortunately, I work in the games journalism industry, so I’m expected to care a little. Despite ignoring most GTA 6 rumors I come across, I still have to pay the game some heed. So, I sat down and watched the trailer like many others will do, and was shocked. I genuinely felt something. I wasn’t bored or watching the red bar slowly tick up so I could skip to the next video. I liked this trailer, well, specifically one facet of it, and for the first time since it was announced, I find myself excited for GTA 6.

I Didn’t Care About GTA 6

It Never Really Appealed To Me

I know everyone loves Grand Theft Auto, and, to an extent, I understand it, but I could never get into any entry in the series. My journey started with what many consider the best, San Andreas, although I was far too young to both grapple with its themes and get into its violence-inclined gameplay. Fast-forward a few years, and San Andreas’ sandbox felt somewhat restrictive compared to everything else that was on offer. So, I jumped into Grand Theft Auto 5, hoping it would satiate my desire to love this series, and struggled, once again, to get into it.

GTA 5 is far too cynical for my liking. It’s delighting in torture, endless cavalcade of flawed characters, and grimy world so hellbent on satirizing everything wrong with our world that it fails to inspire any form of hope or optimism. There’s something draining about playing an experience like that. I’ve since tried GTA III and GTA IV, but neither stuck either. Yet, despite all of that, I would still pay $100 for GTA 6 – if it indeed costs that much – because Rockstar creates worlds and moments like no other.

Every Location Confirmed For GTA 6

With the second major trailer out, here’s a look at all the locations we’ve seen so far across the state of Leonida in GTA 6.

The ridiculous hype surrounding GTA 6 is infectious, enough to get someone to drop their disdain for the series and give it a whirl. I can’t afford not to be a part of the GTA 6 movement, even if I couldn’t care less. That’s why I’ve always hoped that some part of the game’s marketing would stand out to me and ultimately convince me that the money I inevitably spend is worthwhile. Luckily, GTA 6’s second trailer showed me a genuinely great facet of the game I could latch onto to finally get me excited.

GTA 6’s New Trailer Made Me Love Its Protagonists

Their Relationship Is The Main Focus

Lucia and Jason drinking beer on a pier in Grand Theft Auto 6.

I really didn’t like GTA 5’s protagonists, which, I’m sure, sounds like blasphemy to those who truly love that game. It was hard, even with their somewhat redeeming qualities, to get into them, not just because their obviously skewed moral compasses don’t align with my views or values, but because after spending even a brief amount of time with them, they begin to grate. As much as I do truly love flawed characters, much like in The Last of Us 2, there’s something insufferable about dragging every last ounce of goodness through the dirt.

When Grand Theft Auto 6 was first announced, I more or less assumed it would be the same, as each game in the series follows a remarkably similar pattern, at least in this regard. GTA 6’s second trailer proved this right, with Jason being a low-life drug runner with a penchant for working out and Lucia being an ex-convict with a dark past. However, while the trailer cemented that Grand Theft Auto 6 wouldn’t be straying too far from the formula that its predecessors had set, it did offer a glimpse at how its protagonists would break the mold.

We already knew they’d be a couple, with many speculating that GTA 6’s story, at least where its protagonists are concerned, was inspired by the real-life story of Bonnie and Clyde. However, the way GTA 6’s second trailer portrays them is far more interesting and nuanced than I had anticipated. Among all of the action and violence spread throughout, the new trailer gives time to showcase the normalcy of their relationship, the surprisingly believable love between them, and the dangers that could threaten to tear it all apart.

I Hope GTA 6 Primarily Focuses On Jason & Lucia

They Should Be The Selling Point

Lucia smiling while leading Jason into their flat in Grand Theft Auto 6.

Lucia and Jason should absolutely be the key focus of Grand Theft Auto 6’s narrative. Of course, they’re the protagonists and will be on screen at any given moment, but I’m specifically referring to their relationship and the tricky dynamic between them. Rockstar has a fantastic opportunity to explore toxic relationships, the lengths one will go for their loved ones, the inherent messiness of adult life and how that can impact those around you, as well as just the wonderful mundanity of life with a significant other through the fantastical lens of Grand Theft Auto.

Of course, there’s also the potential tragic GTA 6 ending that would be absolutely heartbreaking if Rockstar decides to end on a downright soul-crushing note. One hopes it doesn’t, but after Red Dead Redemption and Red Dead Redemption 2’s endings, I wouldn’t put it past it. Regardless, the dynamic between Lucia and Jason, while not necessarily unique in all media, is certainly unique in the AAA gaming space. It’s not really something we’ve seen a lot in gaming, and that has me rather excited.

The second trailer also reassured me that Rockstar’s team of inventive writers will likely create a believable dynamic between the two protagonists. The quieter moments of the two of them laughing on the pier, or Lucia collapsing on Jason after a hard day of community service while they watch TV together, while perhaps not the blood-pumping action most fans enjoy, made me have a greater respect for the story being told here. It showed me that Rockstar is making room, as I’m sure it did in past GTA games, for more grounded moments.

The second Grand Theft Auto 6 trailer has given me hope that the magic that made RDR2 so special is in here somewhere.

I wasn’t ever expecting GTA 6 to be a Fast and Furious-type escapade, although moments in the trailer certainly allude to that. After all, Rockstar crafted a truly emotional and expertly written narrative with nuanced characters and relationships with Red Dead Redemption 2. However, the second Grand Theft Auto 6 trailer has given me hope that the magic that made RDR2 so special is in here somewhere, so long as it really focuses on the bond and relationship between its central protagonists.