We got video game trailers on Netflix before we got Grand Theft Auto VI.
Jokes aside, the distribution plan for an upcoming GTA VI preview reveals shifting tides in the gaming world. On August 27, Netflix will give viewers an “extended look” at the long-awaited next chapter in Rockstar Games‘ open-world franchise. Then, six hours later, the same preview will drop on YouTube.
The 13-year gap between the fifth and sixth installments of Rockstar’s signature franchise has turned GTA VI into one of the most anticipated video games of all time. The evolution of Rockstar’s strategy has added even more hype. To keep pace with virtual sandboxes like Roblox and Fortnite, the 27-year-old developer is positioning GTA VI as a game creation engine. Thanks to those delays and storylines, fans are eager to catch a glimpse of GTA VI, and Netflix will give it to them.
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Netflix has spent 2026 making deals with creators who broke out on YouTube. Everyone from The Stokes Twins to Jay Shetty to Jordan and Salish Matter has set up shop on Netflix as Co-CEO Ted Sarandos positions his platform as a next-generation creator hub.
Creator content, however, is not the only category that thrives on YouTube. Ever since the days of Twilight: New Moon, YouTube has been one of the first windows for trailers — and for good reason. Rotten Tomatoes Trailers, a channel devoted to film previews, has hauled in 14 billion YouTube views to date.
Netflix understands how big YouTube trailers can be, because it has profited from that ecosystem. The Still Watching Netflix hub ranks among the most-viewed YouTube channels, and there are plenty of trailers among the top Still Watching clips.
By claiming the first window for the GTA VI preview, Netflix is acknowledging the power of two related genres: Trailers and gaming. The logical next step would be to fill Netflix with GTA VI content once the game actually arrives. It’s due out on November 19, so get your “we got ____ before GTA VI” fill before then.
