7 Best Rockstar Game Reveals, Ranked

Highlights

• Rockstar’s reveal trailers are always a big occasion, filled with jaw-dropping gameplay and cinematics.
• They know how to generate excitement without spoiling too much or misleading players.
• Memorable trailers like Max Payne 3 and Red Dead Redemption 2 got fans psyched for what’s to come.

Though they come very few and far between, a reveal trailer for a brand-new title from Rockstar Games is always a big occasion, especially since these trailers are often full of jaw-dropping gameplay and cinematics to keep viewers’ eyes glued to the screen from beginning to end. As has been proven with the Grand Theft Auto 6 reveal trailer, Rockstar is one of the few video game developers who can make the entire world stop simply by dropping a brand-new reveal on their YouTube channel, and it’s fair to say that there have been plenty of these reveals which have done an amazing job at getting players psyched up for what’s to come.

Trailers can be hard to pull off, especially since there’s always a risk they can end up spoiling too much of the game, or if they’re dropped too early, they may not even resemble the final product of the game they’re advertising. Thankfully, Rockstar is one of those developers who know how and when to use a trailer to generate the most amount of excitement, so let’s take a look back at some of the most memorable and iconic trailers ever released by Rockstar.

7 Max Payne 3

A Dazzling New Look At Max’s Latest Adventure In The Sun-Drenched City Of São Paulo

After Remedy Entertainment stepped down as the developer of the Max Payne series in 2003, many fans believed the series had officially ended, despite how popular and influential it had been in the early 2000s. Nearly ten years after the second game’s release though, Rockstar shocked longtime fans by releasing a brief trailer that is narrated by none other than Max himself, who doesn’t seem to be in a great spot in his life.

Max explains he’s arrived in the city of São Paulo on some mysterious mission before the camera showcases the sun-drenched favelas and marketplaces that look absolutely stunning thanks to the dazzling visuals. The trailer continues flicking back and forth between Max drinking his sorrows away in his apartment, and chaotic gunfights taking place on the streets where most of the game’s high-speed action takes place. It was an unexpected trailer for sure, but one that got both existing fans and newcomers interested in this classic series once again.

6 Bully

The Crude Humor And Unique Setting Seen In The Bully Trailer Got People Talking Right Away

By the time Bully was announced in 2006, Rockstar had already established themselves as developers who weren’t above making games that could be considered crude or even controversial. Rather than trying to steer their games in a different direction though, Rockstar doubled down on their unique form of game design by introducing Bully, a game where players are free to cause as much chaos as possible while living the life of a high school student.

The reveal trailer does an excellent job of introducing players to this brand-new setting, while also showing them glimpses of the many different minigames and activities they could get up to. Whether it’s dissecting a frog in a science class, firing slingshots at bullies from a tree, or simply skating around the school grounds, the sense of freedom expressed in this trailer made it seem like it would be an absolute blast to jump into and play, and thankfully, the game did not disappoint when it finally launched not long after.

5 Manhunt 2

Rockstar Leaned Heavily Into The Horror Genre With The Reveal Of Manhunt 2

Rockstar is most well-known for their open-world experiences which are often accompanied by tongue-in-cheek humor and quirky characters, but the Manhunt series couldn’t be any more different. While the first game was recognized for its violence and gore, Rockstar made it clear in the reveal for Manhunt 2 that they were leaning even more heavily into the horror genre; something which is confirmed from the get-go by the very first line “My name is Daniel Lamb, and I live in Hell.”

It’s without a doubt a shocking way to kick off a reveal, but the trailer only becomes more ominous and disturbing as it goes on, with the whole cinematic being made up of strange imagery popping up on the screen one after the other. In the background can be heard a compilation of different voices who all seem to be speaking directly to Danny, but their voices are too muffled and distorted to make much sense of what they’re saying, almost like players are reliving the memories of Danny himself.

4 Red Dead Redemption 2

A Slow, Solemn And Impactful Trailer Which Was Also Breathtaking From A Visual Standpoint

After an agonizing eight-year wait, Red Dead Redemption fans were finally treated to a reveal trailer for a sequel to the much beloved first game, and while it looked absolutely breathtaking from a visual perspective, there was something a little different about this trailer from what Rockstar was used to. Rather than being filled with action, this trailer is much more somber and calm as it lingers the camera on several beautiful landscapes while Arthur speaks in the background.

In the context of the game’s story, this bit of dialogue is Arthur talking to John before the gang inevitably splits apart when he tells him to run away as far as he can once things fall apart. Considering most players already knew bits and pieces of what happened to the gang from the first game, this was an intriguing line of dialogue that spawned many discussions and theories, and it would provide fans with a glimpse into the more mature angle Rockstar would take with writing this now beloved game.

3 Grand Theft Auto 3

One Of The Very First Displays Of A Truly Open-World Game In Action

To understand why the reveal trailer for Grand Theft Auto 3 was so impactful, it’s important to understand when it was released within the context of the industry. The open-world genre hadn’t really been properly established at this time, especially on consoles. Therefore, a trailer that showed a man driving around a living breathing world and seemingly doing whatever he wants, where he wants, all with a third-person camera angle, was shocking, to say the least.

While Rockstar clearly wanted to put a lot of emphasis on the driving mechanics, since stealing cars makes up a bulk of the trailer, there are also a few other action-packed sequences as well which proved to players this would be their own little sandbox to toy around with at their leisure. It’s a trailer that proved the promising potential of open-world games at a time when they were nowhere near as popular as they are today.

2 Grand Theft Auto 5

The Potential For Exploration, Adventure, And Freedom, Is Honestly Staggering

After the enormous success of previous games like Grand Theft Auto 4 and Vice City, Rockstar knew they had to go above and beyond to make the latest game in the series feel like a brand-new experience for players to enjoy. The reveal trailer for Grand Theft Auto 5 assured players this was going to be not just bigger and better than previous GTA games, but than any open-world game they had ever played before, and one reason for this was the amount of variety it showcased.

In one scene, a family can be seen taking a peaceful hike up a mountain, while in the next, the camera focuses on someone racing through the bustling streets of Los Santos during a chaotic police chase. There are also plenty of shots contrasting the lush countryside with the dense and populated city, which helps to make this feel like a gigantic world with endless possibilities. The graphics were also far superior to anything seen at the time, and it was all certainly more than enough to get people talking up until the game’s official launch.

1 Grand Theft Auto 6

A Stunning Trailer Which Proves That Rockstar Are Going All-Out For The Latest Release Of This Beloved Series

It was more or less inevitable Rockstar would release Grand Theft Auto 6 after the previous game became such a smash hit, but nobody knew when this would happen. Finally, in December of 2023, the official GTA 6 reveal trailer finally dropped, with millions of eager fans jumping over to Rockstar’s YouTube channel to witness the new game for themselves. The result is a trailer that will go down in history for the enormous impact it has had on the industry, to the point where people will probably be talking about it long after the game’s release.

The trailer takes players on a quick tour through the beautiful Vice City which looks almost scarily real due to the evident upgrade in graphics from the previous game, and the sheer amount of NPCs packed onto the screen at once. Rockstar also made sure to incorporate that iconic Grand Theft Auto humor into the trailer to accommodate the crazy action on-screen. After constant rumors, this trailer also confirmed this game would be telling a seemingly more intimate story shared between two protagonists which could see the series dipping more into romance than ever before. If Rockstar were to not release another trailer until the release of Grand Theft Auto 6, this one would undoubtedly already be all that’s needed to hold people over considering how well-made it is.