GTA VI: how to build the hype of the decade

GTA is more than a video game. The franchise has sold nearly 475 million units worldwide, and GTA V alone has passed 230 million across three console generations. That is why the wait for GTA VI has been followed like few others.

Three things have fed that wait. First, the trailers, which broke records on release and are still being watched years later. The first reached 90.4 million YouTube views in 24 hours, and the second, according to Rockstar, hit 475 million views in a single day across platforms.

Second, the first gameplay: 27 minutes streaming exclusively on Netflix that drew 31.1 million views in four days and ranked number one in 87 of the 93 countries the platform tracks.

Third, the creators, who turned every release into a shared live event: more than 9,000 of them streamed and reacted to the gameplay live, with a peak of almost 4 million concurrent viewers. Grand Theft Auto VI first look becomes most viewed videogame trailer in 24 hours +3

Three formats that live side by side and overlap. Over 20 days we measured all three with our audio recognition technology (ACR), using the same metric for each, to answer the questions any brand asks about a major launch:

• Do GTA fans still watch TV?
• Do trailers keep adding audience years later?
• Do creators reach as far as official content?
• Do formats add up or cannibalise each other?
• How much is decided on the first night?