Behind the Scenes Secrets of Making GTA Trailers: Revelations from a Former Rockstar Developer

Trailers do not always reflect the real essence of the future project. There were situations when the game itself was adjusted to fit a video that was published many years ago. Something similar happened with Killzone 2 and Anthem. But Rockstar has a different approach. David O'Reilly, who used to work at the studio as an environment artist, shared information about how trailers are created. We have collected all the most interesting things from his story in this article.

Many publishers announce future games at major exhibitions like E3, Summer Game Fest or The Game Awards. Rockstar usually announces a new project at a time when no one expects big surprises. This is exactly what happened with the first trailer for GTA 6. And this is not an accident, but part of the marketing strategy. Players were caught off guard when, after the information about the sixth Grand Theft Auto being postponed to 2026, we were shown a second video, a ton of new screenshots, and detailed information about the characters.

According to David O'Reilly, work on each official video becomes a priority for the entire studio. Therefore, first of all, those elements of the game that will be shown in the trailer are finalized. Any problem or bug that is related to the video is fixed first.

When creating a trailer, special attention is paid to camera angles and what will fall into visible areas. Areas that are outside the camera may not yet be ready for demonstration at the time of the release of the video. However, such close attention to detail can create a false impression of the future project.

For example, the first trailer for GTA 5 was impressive, but when the game was released, fans noticed a discrepancy between the video and the final version of the fifth Grand Theft Auto. David O'Reilly draws attention to the fact that creating such a video is a lot of work. Its goal is to interest potential buyers, and not to give a complete idea of ​​the future project. And they cope with this task perfectly. We can recall the excitement caused by the Grand Theft Auto 6 trailers.

It is quite possible that GTA 6 itself will not have the phenomenal level of detail that we saw in the second video. Especially considering that the game will appear on the weak Xbox Series S. But at the same time, the game activities shown, in the spirit of an open-air gym and underground fights, will certainly appear.

It can also be noted that David commented on the possibility of using neural networks during the creation of a conditional GTA 7. According to him, they will automate routine tasks that do not require a creative approach, for example, displaying vegetation. But the main work in any case will be carried out by real people.

Whether this is true or not — we will find out in the near future. Now neural networks are actively being introduced into the development of video games.

***

Have you noticed moments that look better in trailers than in the game itself? Share your opinions in the comments!