Former GTA 6 developer warns trailer visuals won't match final gameplay

A former Rockstar developer who worked on the highly anticipated Grand Theft Auto 6 has cast doubt on the game's extremely high graphical expectations, following the extremely impressive trailers 1 and 2.

The level of graphical detail displayed in the trailers linked above and below was nothing short of exceptional, and when it releases in November this year, it will absolutely be a contender for the most graphically impressive title available. That's if the level of graphical detail seen in the trailer is or even close to what we get in-game.

However, that isn't likely to be the case, as David O'Reilly, a former Rockstar environmental artist who worked on big-ticket titles such as GTA 5, RDR2, and GTA 6, explained in an interview with YouTuber Kiwi Talkz, that while he is excited for trailer 3, fans should know about how a trailer is designed and the thought process behind it from Rockstar's perspective. According to O'Reilly, what fans see within a trailer is a "madly polished" version of what will be in-game in the final release.

"When you make a trailer, they look at where the camera's going to be, and everything in that view is getting madly polished, whereas everything not in that view isn't getting madly polished yet," said O'Reilly

"The whole world doesn't look like that. You focus on the areas of the trailer, and that's the projection of what the entire full game is going to be like. That's why you get differences in trailers and the final game. You can't view that as, 'That's locked down now. That tree will be there when it releases.' You can't look at it like that."

Additionally, objects, locations, and graphical levels aren't locked down based on what the trailer shows, as the areas showcased in the trailer are subject to change depending on what lands in the final release. This is why there is often a discrepancy between the game's trailer and what players experience when they play it at home. O'Reilly added that much of what has been shown in the GTA 6 trailers has likely already changed, or will change by the time the game releases. Although O'Reilly expressed relief for those concerned.

"Relax, dude. It's a trailer. It's not finished!" said the former GTA 6 developer