Music

The first thing GTA VI did musically was send the streams of a 1989 album track soaring. Trailer 1, released on December 4, 2023, ran on a single song, Tom Petty's "Love Is a Long Road" from the album Full Moon Fever. Spotify said streams of it rose 36,979% week on week, adding that it had seen soundtracks skyrocket before "but never like this". Rockstar had used Petty before: "Runnin' Down a Dream" was in GTA: San Andreas.

Co-writer Mike Campbell was surprised to hear it turn up "in some video game" and glad about it, because the song never got the attention it deserved. It began as the B-side of "Free Fallin'" and peaked at No. 7 on Billboard's Album Rock Tracks chart. The trailer also has a "Petty Forever" sticker, in the colours of the Full Moon Fever cover.

Trailer 2: Hot Together and a car radio full of 80s

Trailer 2, on May 6, 2025, leaned on The Pointer Sisters' "Hot Together" for most of its length. It comes from their 1986 album of the same name and had already been in Spaceballs (1987). Rockstar's YouTube description credits the writing to Sharon Robinson, courtesy of RCA Records. Spotify reported a 182,000% rise in streams, measured over the two hours after the drop against the same window a week earlier. That is a narrower measure than the Petty number, so the two percentages don't compare directly.

The same trailer also has a driving montage with Jason at the wheel around Leonida, and the car radio changes songs along the way: Wang Chung's "Everybody Have Fun Tonight" (1986), Zenglen & 5 Etwal's "Child Support" and Tammy Wynette's "Talkin' to Myself Again" (1987).

An Extended Look: no official tracklist, but the songs were picked out

The video called An Extended Look, released on August 27, 2026, has no official tracklist. The songs identified in it:

• Depeche Mode, "People Are People" (1984)
• Phil Collins, "Against All Odds (Take a Look at Me Now)" (1984)
• Birdman featuring Lil Wayne, "Pop Bottles" (2007)
• Sexyy Red, "Pound Town" (2023)
• Kodak Black, "Skrilla" (2018)
• The Bellamy Brothers, "Let Your Love Flow" (1976)
• Def Leppard, "Love Bites" (1987)
• Captain & Tennille, "But I Think It's a Dream"
• Prefab Sprout, "Cars and Girls" (1988)
• Cliff Richard, "Devil Woman" (1976)
• Chimbala & Omega, "Se Me Nota (Agarrame)"
• Elderbrook & Bob Moses, "Inner Light" (2020)

Launch Trailer: an original song from Justice, and their score

The Launch Trailer, on October 15, 2026, uses one song, and an original one. "Flower in a Hurricane" is by Justice with Tame Impala, SZA and King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard. It is an 80s-style synth-rock anthem, with Kevin Parker and SZA mostly singing in harmony. Justice and Tame Impala have worked together before, on "One Night/All Night" and "Neverender". The song is a standalone single and also sits on both The Album and the Original Score.

Justice, the duo of Gaspard Augé and Xavier de Rosnay, are the composers of Grand Theft Auto VI: Original Score. Rockstar calls it an adaptive score, tuned to the different ways players engage with Vice City and Leonida. They released their fourth album, Hyperdrama, in 2024 before taking on the job. The score album has 30 tracks plus digital bonus tracks and arrives on December 11, 2026, on streaming, CD and vinyl, including a limited Triple Crystal Clear vinyl, so it comes three weeks after the game.

The second single from it, "Pusher" featuring Gesaffelstein, came out on October 29, 2026. Because of the time difference it showed up on Spotify in New Zealand on October 28, ahead of the worldwide release.

Six stations, from Latin to metal, plus podcasts on foot

Rockstar calls in-game radio the series' "most distinct musical element" and promises its biggest and widest-ranging selection yet, from Classic Rock to Talk Radio. There is a new piece too: GTA VI adds on-demand podcasts for the first time, and radio and podcasts can be heard on foot, through headphones and earbuds connected to Jason and Lucia's smartphones.

Rockstar has described these stations so far:

• Cocoteo FM: modern Latin music, from bachata and merengue to dembow and reggaeton, with El Martillo and La Gata.
• Back Country Radio: renegade country, hosted by MW and Delta Dawne. Roving reporter and swamp meteorologist Mud Dog Mike reports from his Grassrivers airboat.
• AfroBank FM: African music from 20th-century classics to amapiano and 3-step, with Burna and Palmsy.
• The Chamber 106.6: metal, hosted by DJ Kerry and DJ Tom.
• Flash FM: back as "the Vice City institution", this time for pop, with Robyn and Alex.
• Dirty South Classics: regional rap and hip-hop classics, with Trick and Trina.

A 34-track album on launch day, and nine singles so far

Grand Theft Auto VI: The Album, made with Atlantic Records, was announced on September 17, 2026. It has 34 original tracks and comes out on November 19, the same day as the game. It will be sold on vinyl and CD, including a liquid-filled vinyl, a splatter vinyl and a CD jewel case exclusive to gtavi-thealbum.com.

The singles announced so far (the last three are also on the official Music page):

• Yung Lean's "That's It" with Future and Metro Boomin
• Travis Scott's "RHYNO", produced by Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo
• "Sexy Magic" by CA7RIEL & Paco Amoroso, PinkPantheress, Fred again and Etienne de Crecy
• Morgan Wallen's "Last Thing You Need"
• Rauw Alejandro's "Macacoa 2000"
• Keith Richards' "Bright Lights, Big City"
• Justice's "Flower in a Hurricane"
• Fuerza Regida's "Suzuki"
• Cardi B's "Don't Chart"

Still rumour: who the hosts are, and which stations return

Rockstar has not confirmed any of the following. Its radio post uses only first names or on-air names. The Fader matched them to real artists:

• Cocoteo FM: Bad Bunny and RaiNao
• Back Country: Morgan Wallen and Lana Del Rey
• AfroBank: Burna Boy and Palms Trax
• The Chamber: Slayer's Kerry King and Tom Araya
• Flash FM: Robyn and Alex Consani
• Dirty South Classics: Trick Daddy and Trina

V-Rock and Emotion 98.3 from Vice City, and Vice City FM from Episodes from Liberty City, are listed as possible returning stations. A leaked list from late October 2026 names further stations such as Kaleidoscope FM, Worldwide FM, Emotion 98.3, V-Rock and Symphony FM, plus songs like Kansas' "Carry On Wayward Son" and Joan Jett's "I Love Rock 'n' Roll". One leak account also claims Rockstar first approached Daft Punk with a near-unlimited budget and chose Justice second.