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Netflix paid an undisclosed – but most likely colossal – sum of money for the exclusive right to stream the new extended preview of Grand Theft Auto VI for 6 hours on Thursday, August 27. After this period ends, the video will appear on Rockstar’s official YouTube channel, where the general public will be able to watch it without having to pay for a subscription.
The video, titled Grand Theft Auto VI: An Extended Look, will be available to Netflix subscribers on August 27 at 3:00 p.m. ET (10:00 p.m. Kyiv time). Anyone with an active Netflix account can visit the trailer’s landing page right now and set a reminder for when the stream begins. For those who are just planning to join the service, a sign-up page is available with plans ranging from $9 to $27 per month.
Later, at 9:00 p.m. ET on Thursday (4:00 a.m. on August 28 Kyiv time), the video will be uploaded to the Rockstar Games YouTube channel, where anyone can watch it via a direct link. Of course, having a YouTube Premium subscription will ensure that the GTA VI trailer isn’t interrupted by other notifications.
The debut of this extended preview comes amid a massive leak of GTA VI gameplay footage, which Rockstar is currently actively trying to remove from the internet. Instead of watching the leaked footage – which upsets the developers – you can check out Dazed’s new, eye-catching feature on fashion and style in Rockstar’s Florida setting, and then wait for the official release of *Grand Theft Auto VI: An Extended Look* on Thursday on Netflix or YouTube. As a reminder, the official release of *GTA VI* is scheduled for November 19, and the game will start at $80.
Ultimately, Netflix will retain exclusive streaming rights to the new GTA VI trailer for only 6 hours in the middle of a workday in August, after which the audience’s attention will completely and irrevocably shift to YouTube. We also shouldn’t forget about the huge number of third-party screen recordings that will instantly flood social media. This move by Netflix seems like a bold and somewhat strange decision, which, in a certain context, could be seen as a sign of desperation.
Over the past two years, Netflix has been steadily winding down its gaming division, most recently shutting down the renowned Night School studio – the creators of Oxenfree – which it acquired in 2021. It was this acquisition that kicked off a large-scale campaign to recruit gaming talent, including the creation of an in-house AAA team in 2022. However, after Alan Taskan took over as head of Netflix Games in 2024, the company shut down or sold all but one of its gaming divisions. Currently, only the group that negotiates deals with third-party developers remains operational; however, overall, Netflix has rapidly scaled back its grand ambitions in the gaming industry.
The Grand Theft Auto franchise remains a unique phenomenon, standing out significantly in terms of popularity, cultural influence, and financial stability. No other game in the world is capable of generating such a frenzy around a simple announcement video, and Netflix would not have competed for temporary exclusivity of a trailer for any other project. GTA VI is a global phenomenon, and Netflix seeks to capitalize on its popularity for monetization, rather than for the actual development or support of its own gaming initiatives. All of this is just another chapter in the escalating streaming wars.