GTA 6 finally grows up, adopts a mature tone

But we’ve got the antidote to that.

Image credit:Rockstar, VG247

It was bound to happen, really. Following Red Dead Redemption 2 , Rockstar’s open world tour de force which was equal parts Grand Theft Horsey and Sad Man Dies Slowly Of Tuberculosis , we sort of expected Grand Theft Auto to skew a little more grown up for its next outing. And from the looks of the trailer, it looks like that expectation has held up:

Rockstar’s next opus is Bonnie and Clyde meets Florida ManWatch on YouTube

That’s not to say the trailer is devoid of humour. Far from it. GTA 6 is clearly sending up America’s culture of excess, celebrity, and vapid obsession with fame as it always has done. But the unhinged side of GTA seem like more of a backdrop here than the main event. The main story, apparently concerning a Bonnie and Clyde partnership of lovers who go around robbing places, is presented in the trailer as having some nuance and depth. An understated performance from the protagonists, and even some tenderness between them.

That’s kind of a big deal, because GTA doesn’t really do tenderness. None of the couples in GTA actually like each other. Friends and business partners are always one mission away from screwing each other over. People cheat on each other as a matter of course. Because, traditionally, every GTA character is basically a cartoon. Not a real person in any meaningful sense: a caricature of a typically selfish, decadent westerner, criminal or otherwise. Even Niko Bellic, GTA 4’s tragic lead whose entire story is about failing to live the American Dream, is an unapologetic murderer. And that’s fine, GTA is GTA.

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Tenderness? In GTA? Probably the most controversial thing it can do these days tbh. |Image credit:Rockstar

Perhaps, though, today’s trailer is evidence that GTA is changing. Not necessarily with the times, but in spite of them. It’s long been a talking point among games press wanks (myself absolutely included) that the world has gotten so absurd, so extreme, so insane since the last game that GTA’s crude brand of curved-mirror satire might not even touch the sides these days. In the same way that Brass Eye and The Day Today used to be searing p**s-takes of the real news media — its excesses and shortcomings dialled up to nonsense levels — but now comes off as tame compared to the actual poison that is sincerely broadcast on 24hr news networks.

Instead of trying to beat reality at its own game, then, GTA might as well pivot to something a little more meaningful. At a regressive time in human history where every society seems to be determined to win a race to the bottom, when empathy and compassion are regarded with contempt and mistrust, the most subversive thing a work of satire can be is sincere .

But if that sounds like a load of wishy-washy liberal claptrap, we’ve dubbed over the trailer with farts for you:

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Grand Theft Auto VI

PS5 , Xbox Series X/S

Wishlisted - Our 10 Best Steam Next Fest Demos

Another Next Fest kicks off soon, but we’ve already done the digging for you.

Welcome to Wishlisted, a showcase of our favourite demos from Steam Next Fest: June 2024. Check the video above or watch on YouTube .

Finding the Best NextFest Demos is all about the joy of discovery, but with so many Steam Next Fest demos getting released in such a short amount of time, it can be bewildering. So we’ve decided to show you our ten Best Steam Next Fest games which we think deserve your attention. These are all upcoming Steam Next Fest games that we’re genuinely excited for, and that we think should play nicely on PC handhelds too!

This is just the start of our Next Fest coverage. This week we’ll be previewing loads of upcoming demos across the entire network - right here on VG247, of course, but also over on our sister sites Eurogamer and Rock Paper Shotgun. Bookmark our Wishlisted Steam Fest hub to stay in the loop. And this is well before Next Fest actually starts, so you, dear reader, get to bask for a solid fortnight celebrating all the wonderful new games that are just around the corner. Enjoy!