Zelnick calls GTA VI's Netflix premiere an "extended trailer"

Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick has described the Grand Theft Auto VI footage premiering on Netflix on August 27 as an "extended trailer". He said it in an interview with IGN. Rockstar Games' own announcement calls it an "extended look" and gives few details about what it will show.

"I think Rockstar felt that a Netflix release would be a great way to show off the extended trailer," Zelnick told IGN. He also confirmed the window GamesRadar+ had reported, where Netflix gets the footage first: "Six hours later it will be available on Rockstar's YouTube channel and I think ultimately on many other outlets." He called the deal an example of Rockstar trying new things in its marketing and said he hopes "there's much more to come."

On the trailer itself he wouldn't say more. It is coming soon enough, he said, that viewers can reach their own conclusion, and he was sure they would watch "because everyone is." He did have one recommendation: "If you're not a Netflix subscriber, you definitely should be one." That is not a surprising thing to hear from a Netflix partner.

In a separate interview with Bloomberg's Jason Schreier, reported by Insider Gaming, Zelnick gave no specifics of the agreement. He called Netflix great partners and said people would understand the reason for the collaboration once they watch the event. He also spoke about consoles: "We believe the install base around launch time will reflect our original expectations."

Netflix calls the arrangement a "first-of-its-kind partnership" and explained it this way:

"reflection of what we hope Netflix is becoming: a place where the most ambitious storytelling, from any medium, can find the biggest possible audience."

The two companies have worked together before. Insider Gaming points out that the GTA Trilogy launched on Netflix Games in 2024 and, by its count, has passed 30 million downloads. Insider Gaming also notes that on a recent investor call Zelnick spoke positively about cloud gaming, pointing to hyperscaler and edge networks that are tackling latency, while adding: "We're not betting any of our company on this."

What the footage actually is remains open. A writer at GTAVice.net thinks Zelnick's comments hint at more videos coming through Netflix, and suggests the reveal could be something other than a longer cut of Trailer 2, perhaps closer to a mini-documentary. That is the site's own speculation. Neither Rockstar nor Netflix has described the format beyond "extended look".

The bar is high. According to Rockstar, Trailer 2 reached more than 475 million viewers across platforms within 24 hours, GamesRadar+ notes. The extended look premieres on Netflix on August 27, 21 days from today, and arrives on Rockstar's YouTube channel six hours after that.