It’s been so long since GTA 6 was first teased that some players have literally graduated high school, found jobs, gotten married, and even had kids in the meantime. Rockstar, instead of giving us the next big thing, spent years releasing brighter, shinier, more “definitive” versions of the same game. Somewhere along the line, we all developed a kind of digital Stockholm syndrome. Every GTA 5 update felt like “this is it, GTA 6 is coming!” But no, it was always Los Santos again. Between fleeting hopes for Red Dead Online, the messy GTA Trilogy Remaster, and endless rumors, Rockstar taught us one thing: patience.
But it wasn’t just Rockstar that changed, the whole world did. New consoles launched, TikTok rose, Vine came and went (so did Byte), and even the Metaverse had its brief moment before fading away. While we were waiting for that GTA 6 trailer, YouTube Shorts turned into a long-form platform. The only things that stayed constant? Rockstar’s silence and our collective endurance.
So let’s take a nostalgic look back at everything we lived, saw, and lost in the 12 years before GTA 6 finally arrived.
Two console generations launched before GTA 6
When Grand Theft Auto V launched in 2013, neither the PlayStation 4 nor the Xbox One existed. They came two months later, that November. Since then, we’ve moved through the PS5 and Xbox Series X era, witnessed two Nintendo consoles, five Meta Quest headsets, and a wave of portable PCs. At this point, if Game Pass collapses before GTA 6 drops, no one would be surprised.
Even Virtual Boy made a comeback
Hell may not have frozen over in the meantime but it might’ve cooled down a little. Nintendo recently announced that Virtual Boy games are coming to Switch Online, complete with a modern remake of the legendary red tabletop headset. What once would’ve sounded like an April Fool’s joke has now become reality and it happened before GTA 6.
We lost Vine, gained Byte, then lost it too
Social media changes fast and you can see it clearly by looking at the apps that have come and gone over the past twelve years. It all started with Vine, which launched the same year as GTA 5. The short-video pioneer peaked in the mid-2010s, only to shut down in 2017. Its spiritual successor, Byte, arrived in 2020, later merged with Clash, rebranded as Huddles, and disappeared again in 2023. Meanwhile, TikTok, which debuted in 2016, not only survived but dominated the entire era; it grew, evolved, and took over the world and yet, GTA 6 still hasn’t shown up.
Before GTA 6 even arrived, Taylor Swift released eight albums
(and re-recorded four of them)
Her career began just a few years after San Andreas, but her entire musical evolution could practically serve as a timeline for the wait between GTA 5 and GTA 6. When GTA 5 launched, Swift was still in her “Red” era. A year later, with 1989, she became a global superstar. Since then, she’s released eight studio albums, gone through two creative “low phases,” and then reclaimed her legacy by re-recording four of her albums, including 1989 (Taylor’s Version), redefining the music industry in the process. And the irony? Taylor Swift has sung about Grand Theft Auto yet, we still haven’t seen GTA 6.
Before GTA 6 could even make its debut, we managed to watch the entire John Wick saga
In the past twelve years, the entertainment world has transformed completely and nothing illustrates that better than John Wick. The first film, starring Keanu Reeves, hit theaters in 2014. Since then, we’ve seen four main films, a spinoff movie, a TV series, and even a tactical video game that appeared briefly before vanishing from stores. Add to that a VR experience, a comic book miniseries, a decade-spanning documentary, and, of course, a Fortnite crossover. Through it all, Keanu Reeves aged gracefully, project by project. And Rockstar? Still silent.
Before GTA 6 could even see the light of day, we actually played The Elder Scrolls VI
Back in 2018, Bethesda showed nothing more than a mountain vista and a few mystical notes yet, the internet spent weeks dissecting that brief teaser. And eventually, Tamriel was called once more, and dragons took to the skies again. Recently, Bethesda announced The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered, releasing it on April 22, 2025, for PlayStation 5, Windows, and Xbox Series X|S. Rebuilt in Unreal Engine 5, the remaster perfectly blended nostalgia with modern technology, continuing the series’ legacy as one that can seemingly defy time itself. And Rockstar? Still no GTA 6.
While all this was happening, the world kept turning; games, shows, and even internet cultures were born and died in the blink of an eye. It wasn’t just the gaming industry that moved on; time itself started running faster than us. And believe it or not, there are dozens of things that will make you say, “Wait, that happened before GTA 6?”
Here’s just a glimpse of what we’ve lived through, witnessed, and worn out while waiting for Rockstar’s next masterpiece:
- We played Hollow Knight, spent years hyped for Silksong… and finally saw it release.
- Nineteen Call of Duty games came out, not counting remasters.
- Chris Pratt became Mario.
- Starfield launched, and we built homes on other planets.
- Bowsette was born, broke the internet, and disappeared.
- We survived a global pandemic.
- The McRib returned three times.
- The Rock starred in 28 movies and yes, including San Andreas.
- Soulja Boy released his own game console.
- We endured the bizarre era of NFTs.
- CM Punk left WWE, then returned a decade later.
- Until Dawn launched and got a remake.
- The Marvel Cinematic Universe added 30 films.
- A new One Punch Man season aired.
- Chopped reached 46 seasons.
- We saw the Attack on Titan finale. (Goodbye, Eren.)
- One Piece added 534 new episodes.
- White Claw became a thing.
- Homestuck ended and somehow got three spiritual successors.
- Sonic the Hedgehog saved his career and became beloved again.
- Derek Carr finished his entire NFL career.
- Martin Luther King Jr. appeared in Fortnite.
- Speaking of which, Fortnite itself came out before GTA 6.
- We watched an entire Star Wars trilogy.
- We met Baby Yoda (Grogu)
- Mayochup, the ketchup-mayo hybrid was invented.
- Oasis reunited.
- We created a meme, overused it to death, and buried it.
- And yes, someone streamed a live birth on Twitch.
At this point, GTA 6 is no longer just a video game, it’s a cultural time marker. Consoles have changed, the internet has evolved, even memes have been born and died yet, the wait continues. And maybe that’s Rockstar’s greatest achievement: they made gaming history without even releasing the game.
The question now is, after all these year, will GTA 6 truly be worth it? And what about you? What’s your own “we even saw that before GTA 6” moment? Share it in the comments, follow us both website and X for more – surprise us.
