Grand Theft Auto VI’s recent trailer announcement set the internet on fire with a single stylish image that slyly teases the eagerly-anticipated sequel’s setting. The simple yet incredibly effective marketing tactic inspired other gaming giants like Microsoft and Epic to parody the announcement for their upcoming trailers, but fans didn’t take the bait.
Within hours of the GTA 6 trailer announcement, Microsoft posted a similar minimalist announcement for an upcoming Halo Infinite trailer featuring a gradient with the same colors and a similar white font in the middle of the image. Epic followed suit with a trailer announcement for Fall Guys featuring its signature bright color palette.
Rockstar announced the date for GTA 6’s first trailer via a post to X, formerly Twitter, on Dec. 1, 2023. The post includes the date and time over a yellow-purple gradient that fans think hints toward GTA 6’s setting, and it quickly become one of the most-liked gaming tweets of all time.
The announcement’s popularity is undoubtedly due to all the hype surrounding the series. GTA 5 is the second most successful game of all time, and fans have been eagerly awaiting news of a sequel for over a decade, a feeling that Microsoft and Epic can’t replicate. Instead, Halo Infinite and Fall Guys are seizing the opportunity to get fans excited for their upcoming patches by inoffensively poking fun at Rockstar, but the joke was mostly turned on the publishers by the community.
Microsoft and Epic’s tweets were mostly clowned on by the public, who saw through the companies’ attempts to capitalize on GTA 6’s popularity. There are plenty of memes mocking the posts that paint the marketing stunts as rip-offs rather than satire. Indie publisher Devolver Digital weighed in on the parodies, saying it wouldn’t be taking part, as they’ve been “drilled into the ground already.”
Memes surrounding the GTA trailer announcement have been rampant in the community, too, as influencers have also been using the template to comment on the state of other franchises and game advertisements.
