Introduction
So as you probably know, it's been more than a year since the first and so far only trailer for "Grand Theft Auto VI" released back on December 4th, 2023. We're now only potentially a few months away from the game's expected launch in fall of 2025. At least that's what they're saying, but we still don't know anything about the actual content of the game.
What We Know So Far About "GTA VI"
And what exactly did that original trailer tell us? It's a "Grand Theft Auto" game, obviously. It's set in Vice City, and there's maybe a female protagonist, or two protagonists possibly. That's basically it. No real full questions answered. There's a lot more that can be inferred from what we see in the trailer.
There's plenty of little clues about what could possibly be in the game, and us and many other people have broken that down. There's leaks, there's talks and stuff like that, but, like, it's still pretty wild being this close to the launch of what is gonna be one of the biggest game releases of all time, and we still know almost nothing official about it.
With the immense hype around the game, there are people scouring the internet for clues and rumors and leaks, and really anything "GTA VI"-related to talk about, because Rockstar hasn't said anything. The hype is obviously very real here. People are going nuts for any sliver of information they can get. We all just want "Grand Theft Auto"-related something at this point, and that's where the subject of today's video comes in.
Introducing "Paradise XRPL
There's a "GTA"-sized hole in the video game community, the fandom, the game industry, that needs to be filled, a gap in the market that can be exploited, and maybe even a great investment opportunity. The game we're talking about here is this one, the one, the only "Paradise XRPL" from an unknown developer, Ultra Games Limited.
The trailer for this upcoming open-world crime game dropped about five months or so ago, and immediately people were kind of looking at it with skeptical eyes. And let's be real here, there is plenty of room for healthy skepticism about this type of thing. This is an unknown game from an unknown developer that's positioning itself to take on the juggernaut that is "GTA VI," a game that's rumored to have a development budget of probably hundreds and hundreds of millions of dollars.
The main takeaway is that a bunch of unknowns are trying to beat the billion-dollar company at its own game. And at first glance, you know, maybe if you're watching on your phone in low res, it seems like they might actually pull it off. Those opening shots from the official reveal trailer are impressive. There's no denying that they've got the look and the feel and the scale down here.
Visually, this thing looks on point at first glance, as it should be, as they're apparently using Unreal Engine 5 here. We couldn't find anything official saying that they're using Unreal Engine for the game, but that's what some of the talk and some of the language it could be inferred here. There's everything you'd expect from a "GTA"-like.
The Core Elements of a "GTA"-Like
There's on-foot third-person action, there's shooting, there's driving, helicopter piloting, that whole central promise of it being a sandbox city where you can go wherever you want, do whatever you want, seems to be fulfilled here. In a world where "GTA" has sucked basically all the air out of the open-world crime genre, seriously, there's just nothing else out there anymore.
Everybody else is kind of thrown in the towel and isn't even trying in 2025. So having something, anything, as an alternative to "GTA VI," if only to give people some of that crime-game flavor that's all but missing from the modern gaming landscape, is a compulsion that we understand. Look, here at Gamix, we've all been pretty upfront about it.
We love those open-world "GTA"-likes, the clones, the ripoffs, whatever you wanna call them. Some of them were great, the "Saints Row" games, "Sleeping Dogs," the "Mafia" games, even stuff like "Watch Dogs 2." Some of these games give you the freedom to steal cars, run around, do stuff, it feels inspired, but it's trying its own thing.
They have cool worlds that are, you know, considered up to par with a "Grand Theft Auto" game in one way or another. But those series are either not around anymore, completely dead, or have changed. They're different now. The world needs something, anything, to stand up to "Grand Theft Auto's," you know, monolithic dominance, if only so we can get more than one crime game every decade, it feels like.
Dissecting "Paradise XRPL's" Trailer
So I understand why someone would see this trailer and get excited about the possibilities. Unfortunately, the red flags start popping up pretty quickly, and we don't mean from any outside information, like we're talking about right in the middle of the trailer. You get all of like 0.25 seconds of pretty enticing-looking open-world gameplay footage before they grind the whole thing to a screeching halt with three simple words: powered by AI.
The newest corporate buzzword, of course. So now, instead of focusing on things people who love these kinds of games might wanna actually be interested in, you know, show us something cool, man, the majority of the trailer is dedicated to these stilted, awkward interactions with AI-powered NPCs, with the first laughable question being if this random NPC is a real person or AI.
Look, guy, I know these, like, MetaHuman NPC models look decent, but I don't think anyone's gonna confuse them with a real person, from their appearance or their stilted AI voices. They sound like the TikTok voices, and it's just kind of like a chatbot. So much about this trailer seems kind of misguided like on what gamers want, or it just doesn't seem to understand what gamers are, as like a target audience.
Awkward Marketing Choices
It's pushing like it's advertising like a "Pokemon" collaboration. The whole thing with the AI-generated influencers is bizarre to say the least. And there's also this "Paradise" AI club thing that's apparently going to be included with the launcher. It's kind of just ChatGPT with a MetaHuman face, awkwardly miming lines.
Is this what people really want from a "GTA"-like? I know pushing technology forward, it has to start somewhere, and first-generation products can be weird, but I don't know, this just doesn't feel right. With all that said, smart NPCs, like actually, have actually always been a staple of video games, and specifically "Grand Theft Auto," and the living world aspect of Rockstar's games is kind of what makes them a cut above everyone making open-world games.
Their games feel more alive and reactive and spontaneous than pretty much anything else out there. And a big reason for that is their complex NPC scripting that makes them seem alive in a way that most games don't bother with. We love hopping into these worlds and screwing around with NPCs, getting into fights, just seeing what happens, seeing how the game responds.
The lack of "GTA"-like polish in the open world was actually a big reason why "Cyberpunk 2077" on launch got totally lambasted. People were expecting advanced AI, and a world you could just hang out in, and have, you know, responses. And frankly, "Cyberpunk" didn't really have that when it first released. A big part of the appeal of "Grand Theft Auto" is just existing in its world.
The Role-Playing Audience
It's why so many people choose to play on role-playing servers, where you're literally just playing as a character in this highly-simulated environment. I think that might be the audience that "Paradise" is trying to bring in. You know, the people that wanna see the infinite possibilities of a big virtual world.
It's something that we've been promised a lot lately, and it's something that we've all become increasingly skeptical of after certain massively over-hyped failures, like "The Day Before." We've talked about this one quite a bit. That game was a wake-up call for a big chunk of the gaming audience. They got fooled by the pretty trailers and big promises, and that game had an absolutely massive amount of Steam wishlists, so people fell for it.
But now I think gaming audiences won't get fooled again. With something like "The Day Before," I don't think we'd see half of the skepticism that's been following "Paradise." I mean, I've just looked at the comments section on the first trailer. Seems like a lot of the comments are just people straight up dunking on the game.
Crypto and Blockchain Controversy
The comment sections is a bloodbath. It doesn't help that, on top of the AI stuff, they also follow it right up with talking about crypto and blockchain and NFTs and play-to-earn, and all that stuff that feels kinda left behind in 2023 at this point. Like, gamers got over this stuff, and investors have moved on to AI, guys, you've already got that.
It's like just drop all the other stuff. And then there's a weird final, I guess, insult to prospective players, the trailer ends by saying that you can play now, just go to their website. I don't want to spoil this for you, but you cannot play the game now, not "Paradise XRPL" at least, but you can play their weird mobile clicker game app that promises to earn you PAR coins that will be usable in the eventual final game.
At least they'll apparently be usable in the Epic Games version of the game. There's a Steam listing, but Steam doesn't allow crypto games, so the Steam page doesn't even mention it. While the Epic page listing proudly claims that it's both an early-access game and contains crypto and NFTs. Look, there is a lot of marketing BS to dig through, but from what we've managed to find, the actual game part of this thing is going to be free-to-play.
It'll have third-person shooting, "GTA"-style heist missions. There will be property ownership, and this is an interesting one, a full single-player campaign that can apparently be played without engaging in any of the NFT or cryptocurrency stuff. Okay, cool, sign me up. I'm in for that. Not only will there be single-player, according to the FAQ on their website, it's already finished, which is really impressive.
Red Flags in Development Transparency
You'd think they'd include some of that in one of their trailers, huh? The lack of any kind of cut scene footage or story, or really any tailored gameplay of any kind, is another red flag for this project. These days it's pretty easy to slap together some impressive shots of a stock character walking through some prefabricated environments.
Look, when some smart people have some access to Unreal Engine tool sets, like, we've seen a lot of things like this. You've all seen the viral, weird fake gameplay trailers that go viral on stuff like Facebook. So when we do look at trailers, we look for telltale signs of real developers' hands in the process, like unique gameplay elements, outside of just generic third-person shooting.
That very well could be like an Unreal pre-made template, and like actual cut scenes and handmade UI elements, something to tell us that this is a real game. Look for as much conversation about how real it was going to be, "Black Myth: Wukong" always had that going for it. There was always clearly a game there. It was just really a big open question about how large the game would be.
In many ways, "Wukong" has a lot in common with "Paradise." It's a highly ambitious game coming from a mostly unknown developer. So, there's that. But the difference is, like, what "Wukong" promised was all fairly reasonable in hindsight, and ultimately, what they were trying to sell people on was just a complete full-price game and nothing else.
Shifting Focus Away From the Game Itself
So was "The Day Before," to be fair. Like, it didn't promise AI integration or NFTs or cryptocurrency things, it was just gonna be a game. And as for bad, and like not even being a real product, as it ended up being, that's all it was. As much as in the back of our minds, like, we want to like the idea of what "Paradise" is offering, we wanna root for it.
It just really feels here like they're trying to sell you something other than the actual game. It's like they're roping you in with, like, the "GTA" bait, and then trying to sell you a bunch of other stuff. We're specifically talking about P-A-R or PAR, this cryptocurrency, which officially launched on February 15th.
Look, you're launching a new crypto in 2025, fine, but, like, if you don't have meme status, or something else to back it up, as of right now, this crypto, this coin, is not worth a lot. You can argue that it's worthless. This stuff is boring. I'd rather Coffeezilla talk about it. The real problem with "Paradise" is just how unfocused the entire marketing of the game seems to be.
Unfocused Marketing Strategies
Like, they want to be this kind of every game for every type of person, but mostly just venture capitalists who will throw millions of dollars at any startup that has AI and all these buzzwords in their mission statement. I mean, seriously, Ultra Games recently had an AMA that contained a blockchain development lead, a chief AI officer, a chief technology officer, and one community engagement specialist.
They kind of forgot someone, you know, the people actually working on developing the game. Half the video is just them talking about crypto, and then the rest of it is just people sitting in uncomfortable silence while a character just kind of runs around an empty open world. Literally nothing happens gameplay-wise in this entire 30-minute video.
Just a lot of running around. Now, to be fair, there is a gameplay video that shows a "Dark Side" heist mission that actually has something happen, has some combat, has some interaction, but it's no "GTA." Definitely not like "GTA V," let alone what we might see in "GTA VI." It looks real, at least, a playable game, but it also looks really disappointing and dull.
Like, when you're talking about games like this, that's actually a good thing. Like, it doesn't look like pre-rendered footage, or a lot of, like, bull shots or clearly scripted in-game footage dolled up to look like it's real-time. It at least looks like an actual game.
Early Access and Player Concerns
But is this something you wanna play? Is this something you wanna play in early access? Is this something you want to invest in? Look, we've seen games that are put together by small teams, sometimes a single person, and they can look rough, they can look clunky, like this. They can look very heavily just kind of like a quick Unreal Engine thing, but at least they're trying.
But here with "Paradise," like, really everything surrounding the game seems like more of a priority than the game itself. Like, even the FAQ on their website is mostly about crypto stuff that most people, at least people jumping into these types of games, do not really care about right now, or anymore.
There are just a lot of questionable statements and inconsistencies all over the place. On their website, they say 600,000 players across platforms for a game that you can't technically play yet. I know that they're putting out pre-release keys, but like, we don't know when the game can actually be played.
Are they talking about that app game thing? I have no idea, because in a more recent trailer, only from a few weeks ago, it says that there are 400,000 players in the description. So, what's the deal here, Ultra Games? Also, their official corporate page makes claims saying that Ultra Games has partnered with Sony Interactive Entertainment, Tencent, and the people behind "Genshin Impact," you know, the HoYoverse, but we can't find anything to corroborate any of those claims.
Everywhere you look here, there's cause for concern. One YouTuber by the name of Jetro has been doing some deep diving into this stuff, big credit to them. They've tried to actually find evidence of their physical office, and came up completely empty. There are a lot of questions just swirling around this game, or this project, and not a lot of satisfactory answers yet from the developers.
Final Warnings About "Paradise XRPL"
So, all we'll say is engage with "Paradise" at your own risk. Even if the game does come out, and we expect that they'll put something into early access, it just won't be a full game yet. And when asked about, like, what will actually be there for early access, the official FAQ says that there will be a few areas and some gameplay elements.
So, it's not even gonna have the full open world at launch, if it was ever going to have a full interconnected map at all.
The last big question left about "Paradise" is the AI integration. What they're proposing with AI prompts and voice responses doesn't seem impossible, but what confuses us is who's gonna pay for it? Are the developers really going to pay OpenAI for every call made to the servers, all while this is somehow a free-to-play game? What's gonna be the catch here? What is footing the bill? Maybe the plan is that everyone will just get bored with the idea, and they'll quietly shutter that part of the game because it makes it seem like all you can do is talk to AI anyway.
Even in their AI demo trailer, they had the player character say that they're robbing the store, only to turn around and leave to talk to someone else, because the AI can't actually react to that. They can say something, but they're not programmed to do anything else, and I don't know, hand over some money when you stick them up or anything.
Concluding Thoughts on "Paradise XRPL"
So, will "Paradise" be the one that dethrones "Grand Theft Auto VI"? No, absolutely not. Given from what we've seen here, there's just no way. But the possibility remains that it could be an alternative to "GTA." It just needs to get rid of all this crap and put out an actual real game.
Look, that possibility is extremely low. "Paradise" is definitely selling itself as a competitor to "Grand Theft Auto," mostly as a form of marketing to generate hype, but we'll only know for sure what the game actually is when it comes out.
I wish we could be more enthusiastic about this one. It's an interesting story, because, and like, God knows, we do actually need a real Rockstar competitor out there somewhere. This is how much the world has changed. Games like "True Crime: Streets of LA" would come out, the original "Saints Row" would come out, and people would be like, "Ugh, what a ripoff. How could they do this shameless ripoff of 'Grand Theft Auto VI?'"
Those games are absolutely incredible masterpieces, works of art that compared to weird cryptocurrency, AI chatbot, NFT slop, we're getting served up here. I really hope that beneath all this, there is a real game that they can put out. Maybe they're just doing all this to trick investors to get money, but I think you need to be aware.
Look, that first shot in that first trailer was cool as hell. It's just a shame about, you know, everything else with this game.
But what do you think about "Paradise XRPL"? Is this something you've been following? Is it something you're signed up for? Are you interested? Maybe we're being too skeptical. Let us know in the comments what you think.
Let's talk about anything really down in the comments. We'd love to hear what you think. If you're looking for a "GTA" competitor, if you got something else you'd like more people to get their eyes on, let us know. But as always, thanks for reading, and we'll see you guys next time.
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