The GTA 6 trailer leak is an early Christmas treat for gamers – and Tom Petty fans
Petty’s Love is a Long Road soundtracks the launch trailer for one of the most anticipated video games in history.
Credit: Jerod Harris/Getty Images
10 years after the release of its predecessor, the trailer for GTA 6 has finally landed. Fans of the franchise will have to wait a little while longer to get their hands on the game, though, as it’s not set to launch until 2025.
And while the trailer – which has amassed nearly 60 million views in just 12 hours – is loaded with pop culture references – not least the inclusion of Grand Theft Auto’s take on Instagram Live – its soundtrack makes way for one of rock music’s foremost names, the late, great Tom Petty.
GTA 6 is easily one of the most highly anticipated video games in history, so it would have been a prestigious accolade for any song featured in its launch trailer. This time, though, that accolade goes to Love is a Long Road, originally released as a B-side to Petty’s most popular song, 1989’s Free Fallin’.
The classic rock track’s key stabs and crunchy electric guitar lines accompany the setting of the scene in Leonida, an open-world zone based on the state of Florida, and its Miami-inspired Vice City.
The story will reportedly follow a criminal duo: Lucia – Grand Theft Auto’s first female protagonist since 1999 – and her romantic partner. Keen-eyed Tom Petty fans will even notice a “Petty Forever” sticker on the door of a convenience store the pair look to be robbing at the 1:17 in the launch trailer.
Though Tom Petty died in 2017 at the age of 66, he’ll likely have an influx of new listeners as a result of Love is a Long Road’s inclusion in the GTA 6 trailer.
Several comments under the YouTube audio video of the track on the Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers channel reference GTA, with one writing: “One of the most underrated Tom Petty songs ending up into one of the most loved game franchises is just phenomenal.”
Another writes: “The perfect song, the perfect atmosphere. Godspeed Tom Petty, you’ll live on the streets of Vice City.”
GTA 6 is set to arrive in 2025. For more info, head to Rockstar Games.