
Rockstar Claims GTA VI Trailer 2 "Captured Entirely" by PlayStation 5 Base Hardware
Not too long after announcing the delay of their flagship next-gen AAA+ game, Rockstar Games appeased the masses with the uploading of a bombastic second trailer—showcasing Grand Theft Auto VI's various colorful cast members, Vice City locales, and spectacular visual effects. Online debaters have picked this cinematic preview apart; many doubters reckon that teaser material (mostly) consists of pre-rendered CGI—pumped out by "pro-grade" equipment. Many observers did not pick up on a small text detail—"captured on PS5"—at the tail end of the studio's GTA VI Trailer 2. To reiterate this point, the Rockstar Games official social media account sent out a bulletin. Yesterday evening's official alert insisted that their: "Grand Theft Auto VI Trailer 2 was captured entirely in-game from a PlayStation 5, comprised of equal parts gameplay and cutscenes." This tidbit is also mentioned in the trailer's YouTube description.
Earlier today, the Digital Foundry team published their (must read, or watch) technical critique of Rockstar's forthcoming magnum opus. In their (collective) professional opinion, Rockstar's claim deserves merit: "the trailer was released in 4K at 30 FPS with black bars—producing a rather odd 20:9 aspect ratio—with text at the end of the trailer confirming it was recorded on a base PS5 instead of the more powerful PS5 Pro. Internal resolution counts come out at 1440p, or 2560x1152 to be exact—that's 80 percent of 1440p on the vertical axis. The trailer seems to be using a spatial upscaler, something like AMD's first-generation FSR, with that characteristic curved look present in fine detail like distant text. This means image quality is a little soft, but makes it more believable that the game is actually running on a base PS5, bearing in mind the relatively realistic details and graphical effects elsewhere." Going back to late 2024, another highly anticipated "AAA+" title was unveiled—The Witcher 4; with an Unreal Engine 5 underpinning. At the time, CD Projekt RED hinted about this fantasy blockbuster's introductory trailer being pre-rendered by an "unannounced NVIDIA GeForce RTX GPU." We later learned that this mysterious bit of hardware was a formidable GeForce RTX 5090 graphics card. Given GTA VI's (2026) "consoles first" launch, Rockstar engineers do not have the luxury of (immediately) pairing their proprietary RAGE engine with cutting-edge hardware. An elevated visual feast—on PC platforms—is expected further down the line.
Earlier today, the Digital Foundry team published their (must read, or watch) technical critique of Rockstar's forthcoming magnum opus. In their (collective) professional opinion, Rockstar's claim deserves merit: "the trailer was released in 4K at 30 FPS with black bars—producing a rather odd 20:9 aspect ratio—with text at the end of the trailer confirming it was recorded on a base PS5 instead of the more powerful PS5 Pro. Internal resolution counts come out at 1440p, or 2560x1152 to be exact—that's 80 percent of 1440p on the vertical axis. The trailer seems to be using a spatial upscaler, something like AMD's first-generation FSR, with that characteristic curved look present in fine detail like distant text. This means image quality is a little soft, but makes it more believable that the game is actually running on a base PS5, bearing in mind the relatively realistic details and graphical effects elsewhere." Going back to late 2024, another highly anticipated "AAA+" title was unveiled—The Witcher 4; with an Unreal Engine 5 underpinning. At the time, CD Projekt RED hinted about this fantasy blockbuster's introductory trailer being pre-rendered by an "unannounced NVIDIA GeForce RTX GPU." We later learned that this mysterious bit of hardware was a formidable GeForce RTX 5090 graphics card. Given GTA VI's (2026) "consoles first" launch, Rockstar engineers do not have the luxury of (immediately) pairing their proprietary RAGE engine with cutting-edge hardware. An elevated visual feast—on PC platforms—is expected further down the line.