With the GTA 6 hype train in motion, 2024 will be the most exciting year for Grand Theft Auto in the series' almost 30-year existence

Firstly: Merry Christmas! Secondly: thank you for taking the time to visit GamesRadar+ on this day of Santa Claus and Jesus Christ. And Thirdly: thanks also for tuning in to Grand Theft Advent, our month-long celebration of all things GTA – a feature takeover that kicked off on December 1 with us speculating about when we might see the long-awaited and much-anticipated GTA 6 trailer, carried on through the unexpected early drop of said trailer a few days later, and spent the remainder of its 25-day run hypothesizing about what it all meant and what we might see next. 

We're now at the end of the line for our Grand Theft Advent run, which means we're now also within touching distance of 2024. We know that GTA 6 is officially arriving at some point in 2025, which paves the way for an exciting 12+ months ahead for fans of the enduring open-world crime sim. To this end, I don't think it's a stretch to say 2024 will be one of the most exciting years for the series since its debut in '97 – perhaps even the most exciting to date. 

And I cannot wait. Not just to receive official updates from the developer itself, but to likewise read umpteen weird and wild and wonderful rumors from the farthest-flung corners of the internet. What does this mean? What does that mean? Who is this person? What is that location? The most inventive and imaginative minds from within the GTA community have an answer for everything. Even when they don't, they do, because their cousin's friend's dog walker's hairdresser once worked at Rockstar 20 years ago. And that's part of the beauty of it all.

Love is, indeed, a long road

Of course, it's already started. The wildest GTA 6 trailer fan theories so far have speculated on everything from the tag on Lucia's ankle, suggesting it'll restrict movement early on in the game's story mode, to co-protagonist Jason bearing a resemblance to GTA 4's Nico Bellic, the hows and whys of Lucia incarceration, and even the inclusion of three birds in the game's promotional artwork as a sign Jason and Lucia have children. My absolute favorite imaginative stretch so far, however, is tied to the game's map – whereby GTA 6 sleuths have managed to uncover the most believable map tease yet by zooming into one piece of key art way too many times. It's some serious click-and-enhance CSI bullshit, but I'm totally here for it, and, actually, the more I stare at it, the more I'm convinced it's legit. 

Elsewhere, the prospect of GTA 5 protagonist Michael De Santa returning in GTA 6 hit peak intrigue last week, when the character's voice actor Ned Luke appeared on a podcast with ex-con-turned life coach Larry Lawton. When Lawton innocuously introduced the actor as having featured in GTA 5 and GTA 6, Luke quickly said Lawton had displayed a "senior moment", while (pretty unconvincingly) distancing himself from the suggestion. Luke and/or Lawton may or may not get their wrists slapped by the powers that be, but the whole exchange – in concert with hopeful map sightings and the mental contortions would-be players perform in their bid to satiate their thirst for details – is exactly what I love about this part of a big game's development cycle. 

We'll inevitably learn more about GTA 6 in the weeks and months ahead. We'll get another trailer, which we'll pull apart and dissect in the same way we have trailer number one, until credible theories stop making sense and words lose meaning altogether. We'll get new artwork, developer interviews, and preview events where select members of the media and influencer networks will take this new slant on Vice City for a spin, before reporting back with all the highs and lows that come with it. We'll get a concrete GTA 6 release date at some point too; and then we'll learn that, actually, the date was stitched into the floral design of OG GTA: Vice City protagonist Tommy Vercetti's shirt all along, but nobody noticed until now some 22 years later. 

From the sublime to the ridiculous, this is what the preamble hype train for a game as big in stature as GTA 6 is all about, and I don't want to miss any single stop along the way. One thing I don't want, though, is any more leaks. From the in-development GTA 6 footage and screens that surfaced in late 2022, to the unprecedented years-long Insomniac breach earlier this month, no one wins in these unfortunate situation – not the devs, and certainly not us as customers who invariably get robbed of the exciting build-up on the road to release as illustrated above.

I'm excited, as I'm sure you are too. So Merry Christmas, happy holidays, and happy Grand Theft Advent to all of those who've celebrated along with us. We'll see you in the New Year, when the GTA 6 hype train kicks into gear in earnest. 

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