Hey it’s Tarrmu and welcome to Thinking Out Loud. In today’s video, we’ll be talking about GTA 6—and more specifically, the hype and expectations that surround its release.

The big question is this: are our expectations realistic, or are we setting ourselves up for disappointment?

I’ve seen countless lists of the “10 must-have features” GTA 6 needs to include, alongside wild theories about what the game will be. And don’t get me wrong—I enjoy hearing theories as much as anyone. But I think it’s important we ask ourselves if it’s reasonable to keep our expectations in check.

I have faith in Rockstar. Their last release, Red Dead Redemption 2, was a gaming opus, still hailed as one of the best games of all time. But even with that track record, I can’t help but wonder: are we putting GTA 6 on such a high pedestal that no game could ever live up to it?

The last time I remember hype on this level was Cyberpunk 2077—a game that even non-gamers knew about. And honestly, even if Cyberpunk had launched in the most polished state imaginable, it still would have fallen short of the mountains of expectations stacked against it. I was there day one, and while I enjoyed the game, it’s clear that when expectations are set too high, we’re rarely—if ever—satisfied.

This hype train has only intensified thanks to social media. Platforms like Twitter, Reddit, TikTok, and YouTube amplify speculation to the point where small theories snowball into full-blown expectations. What could be easily gets confused with what should be. And when the final product doesn’t match those inflated ideas, admiration quickly turns into disappointment.

And this isn’t new. We’ve seen it before with games like Fallout 4 in 2015, or Death Stranding, where nobody even knew what the game was until release—and then fans split down the middle in terms of reaction.

But hype isn’t always bad. There are success stories too: Elden Ring, Breath of the Wild, even Persona 5. All of these games carried enormous anticipation after long development cycles, and they still delivered defining experiences that dominated the conversation around modern gaming. GTA 6 absolutely has the potential to join this group, just like RDR2 did.

Now, when it comes to expectations, I think there’s a clear line we need to draw. There are things we should expect: a polished experience, smooth framerates, minimal bugs. That’s the bare minimum in 2025. But then there are things we hope for—features like the San Andreas fitness system making a return, or the friend-hangout mechanics from GTA 4 and 5. These wishlist items are great to talk about, but they aren’t promises. And when we start expecting them as guarantees, that’s when disappointment creeps in.

So where does this leave us? To me, the healthiest way to approach GTA 6 is with optimism, but not with a rigid checklist of demands. Go in excited to see what Rockstar does, not frustrated by what they don’t.

If history tells us anything, GTA 6 will almost certainly be a landmark release—but it won’t be everything every fan dreams it to be. And that’s okay.

So what are your thoughts on GTA 6 and the hype surrounding it? Are you expecting the world, or are you waiting to see how things shake out?

As always, I’m Tarrmu, and this has been Thinking Out Loud. Thanks for watching.

Official Trailer