How good are GTA 6’s graphics? What the trailers show
On Rockstar’s PS5 footage the graphics look very strong, according to Digital Foundry, which praised the lighting, skin and hair but noted a soft image and noisy ray-traced reflections. Rockstar says the game targets 30fps on consoles and gives the PS5 Pro PSSR and ray-traced shadows, but it hasn’t published a resolution, and nothing from Xbox has been shown.
Rockstar says Trailer 2, An Extended Look and the Launch Trailer were captured in-game on PS5. Digital Foundry, as Pure Xbox reports it, put An Extended Look at about 1440p upscaled to 4K, at a relatively stable 30fps.
Those are analysts’ readings of curated videos, not Rockstar specs. The finished game can’t be judged until release on November 19, 2026.
At a glance
Checked 10 November 2026
- Trailer 1 (Dec 4, 2023)
- Rockstar made no capture claim
- Not confirmed
- Trailer 2 (May 6, 2025)
- In-game on PS5, half gameplay and half cutscenes
- From Rockstar
- An Extended Look (Aug 27, 2026)
- All in-game footage, captured on PS5
- From Rockstar
- Launch Trailer (Oct 15, 2026)
- Captured entirely in-game on PS5
- From Rockstar
- Resolution
- About 1440p upscaled to 4K in An Extended Look, per Digital Foundry
- Reported
- Ray tracing
- Lighting praised, some reflections called noisy, per Digital Foundry
- Reported
- Frame rate
- Targeting 30fps (Rockstar); DF read the footage as 30fps
- From Rockstar
- Xbox and PS5 Pro footage
- None published
- Not confirmed
What did Trailer 1 show in 2023?
Rockstar released the 91-second reveal on December 4, 2023, a day ahead of schedule. Its post on X said the trailer had leaked and asked fans to watch the real thing on YouTube. It hasn’t said how the footage was captured or what hardware it ran on.
It’s best read as an edited mood piece: story scenes mixed with phone videos and news clips. For us, later videos are a better guide to the finished look. See what Trailer 1 showed.
What did Digital Foundry make of Trailer 2?
Rockstar said Trailer 2, from May 6, 2025, was captured entirely in-game on PS5, in equal parts gameplay and cutscenes. Pure Xbox, reporting Digital Foundry’s breakdown, says the team was very impressed. DF called the lighting “extremely impressive”, credited the move to real-time ray tracing, and said real-time time-of-day changes are a must for a game like this.
DF put the image somewhere between 1080p and 1440p, in places not much above 1080p, and Pure Xbox reports it found the footage capped at 30fps. Those are the team’s estimates from a video, not Rockstar’s figures.
How did An Extended Look hold up under analysis?
It’s the best evidence so far, because Rockstar says the August 27, 2026 video was captured in-game on PS5. As Pure Xbox reports it, Digital Foundry judged the internal resolution to be about 1440p without dynamic resolution scaling, upscaled to 4K, at a “relatively stable and well-paced” 30fps. Pure Xbox lists character rendering, hair and skin among the highlights DF praised, along with specular reflections and global illumination.
The same analysis wasn’t all praise. DF called some ray-traced reflections noisy and smeared, and noted a soft image with aliasing and shimmer on fine detail. For us that’s a fair picture: striking faces and light, with rough edges. More in An Extended Look.
Why did the Launch Trailer look blurry to some fans?
Rockstar says the October 15, 2026 Launch Trailer was captured entirely in-game on PS5. Some viewers thought it looked hazier than earlier videos. According to Notebookcheck’s summary, Digital Foundry found no sign of a resolution drop, still about 1440p upscaled to 4K.
DF agreed the look had changed but suggested that may come down to this particular capture, and it also raised concerns about the HDR. The uneven animation it had noticed in earlier videos wasn’t visible this time, though Notebookcheck adds that one short trailer is too small a sample to be sure. See the Launch Trailer.
Will the finished game look like the trailers, and run at 60fps?
Nobody outside Rockstar can say. Every analysis is of curated PS5 footage, and there is nothing from Xbox Series X|S or PS5 Pro. Rockstar’s November 10 post says the game is “targeting 30 frames per second” on current consoles but gives no resolution; more on whether GTA 6 runs at 60fps.
If you’re choosing between consoles, wait for tests of the released game: no outlet has compared versions yet, because none has been shown running outside PS5.
What we don’t know yet
We don’t know the final resolution on any console, how the Series S version compares, or how much the PS5 Pro extras Rockstar names, PSSR clarity and ray-traced shadows, change the look. Rockstar hasn’t said if the blur and bloom some saw in the Launch Trailer can be switched off, or whether the shimmer will be improved.
It also hasn’t shown the game running on Xbox, and nobody outside Rockstar has tested it. We’ll update this page with independent tests after launch on November 19, 2026.
Related questions
Is GTA 6 captured on PS5 or PS5 Pro?
Rockstar says PlayStation 5 for Trailer 2 onward and doesn’t name the model. Pure Xbox says Digital Foundry judged An Extended Look to be base PS5 footage.
Do the GTA 6 trailers show real gameplay?
Rockstar says Trailer 2 was half gameplay and half cutscenes, and that An Extended Look and the Launch Trailer were captured in-game. Trailer 1 has no capture claim.
Does GTA 6 use ray tracing?
Digital Foundry’s analyses point to real-time ray tracing in the footage, praising the lighting while calling some reflections noisy. Rockstar’s November 10 post mentions ray-traced shadows only available on PS5 Pro, but it hasn’t published a full feature list.
Will GTA 6 graphics be downgraded at launch?
Rockstar hasn’t addressed it. Digital Foundry found no resolution drop in the Launch Trailer, but the final game is unseen.
Sources and verification
- Pre-Load Grand Theft Auto VI Now, Rockstar Newswire (10 November 2026)
- Rockstar releases GTA 6 trailer early, following leak (Rockstar’s ’please watch the real thing’ post), VGC (4 December 2023)
- Rockstar reiterates that the latest GTA 6 trailer was captured on PS5, VGC (7 May 2025)
- GTA 6 Tech Is Seriously Impressive, But It’s Looking Like A 30FPS Game On Console (Digital Foundry’s Trailer 2 analysis), Pure Xbox (8 May 2025)
- In-Depth GTA 6 Analysis Hints At Potential Resolution & FPS Targets For The Full Game (Digital Foundry’s analysis), Pure Xbox (28 August 2026)
- GTA 6 launch trailer analysis praises performance boost, denying PS5 resolution downgrade (Digital Foundry’s analysis), Notebookcheck (16 October 2026)
- Grand Theft Auto VI: An Extended Look, Rockstar Games (27 August 2026)
- Grand Theft Auto VI Launch Trailer (captured in-game on PS5), Rockstar Games (YouTube) (15 October 2026)
- GTA 6 Trailer 1, Rockstar Games (YouTube) (4 December 2023)