As fans continue to analyse the Grand Theft Auto 6 trailer, it has become clear it includes multiple references to real-life events and people.
GTA 6 heads to the state of Leonida, Rockstar’s version of the state of Florida, and the neon-soaked streets of Vice City, Rockstar’s take on Miami.
The global view of the culture of Florida can be seen throughout the trailer, but fans have picked out a handful of clips seemingly directly lifted from real-life events. Chief among them is a clear reference to the ‘Florida Joker’, a tattoo model who went viral on the internet in 2017 after his arrest mugshot revealed facial tattoos and neon green hair.
THEY GOT FLORIDA JOKER IN GTA 6 pic.twitter.com/7VL35JfKQS
— Born to Tweet, Forced to Post (@The_Cultist_) December 4, 2023
But there’s more. Fans have compared the woman dual-wielding hammers in the trailer to an image taken of a real-life woman doing the same.
The trailer contains multiple shots of alligators sniffing around buildings, as we often see them do in real-life Florida. Other shots look inspired by local news broadcasts that reported on the weird and wonderful goings on in the state.
The shot of the naked man watering his garden looks like a riff on 2018 news reports about a Florida man who did yard work naked. And yes, the clip of the woman twerking on top of a moving car seems similarly inspired by real-world events.
X/Twitter account @CGHchannel posted a handy set of comparison images showing just how stark the comparisons are.
Additional images linking the events shown in GTA VI Trailer compared to real life events. pic.twitter.com/8Ecg9NhIFW
— CentralGamingHub (@CGHchannel) December 5, 2023
Rockstar’s Grand Theft Auto series is famous for parodying American culture, and based on the GTA 6 trailer, the developer is doubling down, this time on Florida. It seems likely Leonida will be full of ‘Florida man’ moments, if the trailer is anything to go by.
GTA 6 comes out in 2025, 12 years after GTA 5. The world is now a very different place compared to 2013, and the trailer includes these real-life references as part of what looks like a commentary on our obsession with social media. Clips of ‘Florida man’ are shown as viewed through the lens of the TikTok generation. Or should we say Leonida man?
The official GTA 6 trailer is already record-breaking, with an eye-watering 66 million views in less than 24 hours. Parent company Take-Two and Rockstar have announced a 2025 release window and mention the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X and S platforms only, potentially leaving PC gamers out in the cold.
Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.
