When Rockstar surprise-dropped a new trailer for Grand Theft Auto VI, along with a bunch of information about the game's story and its characters, many were quick to say that it looked great, but wondered what it would actually look like outside of a trailer that players assumed wasn't actual gameplay.
Well, turns out it was actual gameplay, and it was all captured on a PlayStation 5 console. Not a PlayStation 5 Pro, a PlayStation 5. Presumably, if it was captured on a PS5 Pro, Rockstar would have made the distinction. Rockstar confirmed in a post on X that the trailer was a mix of in-game cutscenes and gameplay, all drawn from a PS5.
"Grand Theft Auto VI Trailer 2 was captured entirely in-game from a PlayStation 5," the post reads, "comprised of equal parts gameplay and cutscenes."
It is incredible to know that everything we saw earlier this week came from a PS5, and a credit to the work Rockstar has put in to up the ante for the game players have been waiting over a decade for. Players who didn't fork over hundreds to upgrade to a PS5 Pro (like me) are rejoicing right now, knowing that we're all in for an incredible-looking journey come May 26, 2026.
And if you already bought a PS5 Pro, now you can salivate thinking about how it'll look this good and potentially run at a smoother, higher framerate than what's possible on PS5 and Xbox Series X. Anyone who was on the fence about buying one can now do so with full confidence that they'll be in for an absolutely stunning experience when GTA VI launches.
If you want to continue salivating over how good Grand Theft Auto VI looks, there are already numerous videos analyzing everything about the trailer, showcasing just how much Rockstar has improved the look of everything in GTA VI compared to GTA V.
Shortly after Rockstar posted this confirmation to quell everyone's doubts, Digital Foundry published its analysis video about the trailer. They spotted a few bits of aliasing and how certain details don't look as good as they could, like hair effects, for example. But overall, the DF experts are just as happy as everyone else to see how amazing it looks, even with all the caveats they present and the fact that analyzing a trailer is still no replacement for the analysis they can do when they have the game in hand.
They do, however, stipulate that it will likely only have a 30fps mode on launch. It's possible that PS5 Pro users get a 60fps mode, but it's more reasonable to expect a 30fps mode. Not just because of all the tech Rockstar is using to make GTA VI look this good means that a 60fps framerate just isn't possible on consoles, but because Rockstar has a history of releasing its major games with no 60fps mode at launch.
And on the topic of what's not possible with GTA VI, they also speculate that this game is far too big for the Nintendo Switch 2, and that it won't be able to run on handheld PCs, at least in any state that you'd want to play it in.
But who knows, maybe Rockstar is taking the time afforded by the delay to optimize GTA VI as much as possible, and get a Nintendo Switch 2 version, and/or a 60fps mode ready, if not for launch, for sometime in 2026.
About the author: David has been writing about videogames, technology, and culture since 2020, with a focus on reporting daily news across multiple publications, including GameDaily.Biz, GameSkinny, and PlayStation Universe before joining Wccftech in 2025. David started contributing as Canada/US reporter for Wccftech's gaming section in 2025. Besides being up-to-date on the industry's movements, he loves interviewing developers, reviewing games, and writing intricate essays about the symbolism and layered meanings to be found in rich narratives as he's done for publications like GamesIndustry.Biz, LostInCult, and others. Outside of games he loves movies, music, theatre, his hometown, and his family, though not necessarily in that order.
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