The trailer of "Grand Theft Auto 6" was released on social media as a surprise on Monday and the first look of the popular video game franchise has already gone viral on social media. The official handle of Jio Cinema took to social media to share AI-generated pictures of some Indian cricket team stars in the looks of GTA 6 characters. The posts on social media platform X (formerly known as Twitter) featured Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Hardik Pandya. KL Rahul and Ravindra Jadeja looking like the characters in the popular game franchise. The users were quite impressed with the pictures and some of them came up with interesting comments.
The video game will be set in fictional Vice City, reminiscent of Miami, and appears to feature the first playable female character in the franchise.
The early release of the trailer, prompted by a leak of it online, came on the eve of Tuesday's scheduled first glimpse for GTA VI.
"Our trailer has leaked so please watch the real thing," Rockstar Games, the company behind GTA, said on a post on X, formerly Twitter.
The video garnered some 2.2 million likes on YouTube within about 30 minutes of being posted on the site.
Released a decade ago, GTA V has sold around 190 million copies, according to Rockstar-parent Take-Two Interactive, making it the best-selling game in the United States for the past decade based on both unit and dollar sales.
The entire GTA franchise has sold a mammoth 410 million units so far, according to Take-Two.
Wedbush analyst Nick McKay estimated that predecessor GTA V and an ongoing, online multiplayer extension of the game have brought in nearly $10 billion in revenue.
The release of GTA V a decade ago came with the launch of an online multiplayer option, delivering high-quality experiences in a virtual Los Angeles-like city of hijinks and criminality.
"I can play according to the main storyline, or I can just explore the world and cause mayhem to fill the time," McKay said.
"Very little is off-limits to the player."
Rockstar has consistently added fresh content to GTA online.
(With AFP inputs)