We Got All Of These Sneaker Things Before GTA 6

When Rockstar Games released the first trailer for Grand Theft Auto 6 in December 2023, there was a feeling of euphoria after a decade-long wait. After being lost in the wilderness of Blaine County for over a decade downloading mods that let you wear Air Jordan retros on a role-playing server, gamers finally found their next thing. The trailer broke through like nothing breaks through nowadays.

Tweets were flying about gamers pouring one for their homies, in real life, and those who were part of their crime crews, who did not live to see this day. TikToks were popping up within hours, breaking everything in microscopic detail, like Taylor Swift fans trying to figure out which ex she’s dissing this time. Brands unrelated to GTA, gaming, or entertainment in general were trying to catch some of the wave. It unified the people in ways that just seem impossible in today’s fractured media environment. The message was clear: the next entry in the iconic open-world crime simulator franchise was finally near.

Unfortunately for people who do not follow the video game industry closely, the trailer was predictably just the first taste that people would get as Rockstar strung the industry along with promises and delays before finally settling on a release date of November 19, 2026, nearly three years later. In that time, a meme emerged as fans and casuals alike shared their exhaustion in waiting by calling out the unbelievable things that have happened in between the release dates of GTA 5 and GTA 6.

5-Star Meme

Pop culture is littered with iconic moments and complete runs that have taken place during the wait for GTA 6. For music fans, they have enjoyed eight Taylor Swift albums, iconic feuds between Kendrick Lamar and Drake, Pusha T and Drake, and Meek Mill and Drake, plus an Oasis reunion between games. In the comic book movie world, multiple phases of the MCU kicked off and completed while multiple attempts by DC to compete with Marvel started and ended in the same time frame. The Prestige TV era enjoyed the complete runs of Succession, Atlanta, and many others, which resulted in thousands of hours of podcasts recapping those shows. Longstanding championship droughts in Chicago (Cubs - 108 years), Cleveland (Cavaliers - 52 years), Philadelphia (Eagles - 57 years), and Los Angeles (Lakers - 10 years (I know, we’re spoiled)) were all put to rest before GTA 6 dropped.

The sneaker world has experienced a lifetime's worth of ups and downs between the two games. When GTA 5 dropped on September 17, 2013, the biggest sneaker releases that week were the Nike KD 6 Bamboo, the Air Jordan 5 Doernbecher, and a retro of the FILA GH1. Back then, all of those sneakers either sold out immediately or did not last long on shelves. If those sneakers are released in 2026, only the Doernbecher 5s sell out right away, and even that’s not a guarantee if the price is north of $250. Here are some other notable sneaker moments we experienced while we continued to wait for GTA 6.

5 Air Jordan 1 High Bred Retros (Holiday 2013 - February 2026)

Without counting variants like the Flyknit Breds, low-cuts like the Banned Lows, mids like every Bred Jordan 1 Mid ever made, and exclusives made only for the cool kids, there have been five high-profile retros of the Air Jordan 1 in the classic black and red colorway with the iconic Nike Air tongue tag released in the time between GTA 5 and GTA 6.

1. Air Jordan 1 Retro High OG Bred (December 2013)

2. Air Jordan 1 Retro High OG Bred (September 2016)

3. Air Jordan 1 Retro High OG Satin Bred (October 2016)

4. Air Jordan 1 Reimagined Patent Leather Bred (December 2021)

5. Air Jordan 1 Retro High ‘85 OG Bred (February 2025)

The argument for going back to the well this many times in the span of 13 years is that Nike was simply satisfying the demand of the people. Rockstar saw the success of GTA 5’s online mode and realized that instead of going back to the drawing board and starting work on GTA 6 right away, they could take their sweet time in development while GTA Online brings in record revenue. Because for as much money as GTA 5’s single-player campaign has made, the online mode has surpassed that several times over. But neither company expected to rest on those laurels forever. So now we are hearing news of Nike looking to shake things up at Jordan Brand by restricting the retro releases and Rockstar is finally releasing the sixth mainline entry in their record-breaking franchise.

Paul George’s Entire Nike Signature Shoe Line (January 2017 - December 2022)

The saddest part of Paul George’s entire tenure as a signature shoe athlete is that the most memorable moment surrounding his sneakers did not even involve him, nor were the sneakers portrayed in a positive light. Despite putting up All-NBA numbers in his Nike PGs, they will forever be known as the shoes that blew up on Zion Williamson during a nationally televised game between Duke and North Carolina while President Barack Obama and Spike Lee were in attendance. The incident was so universally panned that it led to a temporary $1 billion dip in Nike’s valuation. GTA 5 reportedly made that much in its first 3 days in retail sales back in 2013, and as of this post, analysts are projecting that GTA 6 will triple that amount when the game launches in a few weeks.

Zion incident aside, the PG line was beloved in the sneaker community thanks to their performance on the court and their relatively affordable price point. And with the PG 1 slated to get a retro run later this year, it’s entirely possible we not only get the entire Nike PG run in between GTA entries, but we get the first retros as well.

Steph Curry Signing With (and Leaving) Under Armour (October 2013 - November 2025)

A month after Rockstar shook up the gaming world with the release of GTA 5, Steph Curry made a similar splash with Under Armour after leaving Nike under less than stellar circumstances. Well, not really. If Rockstar releasing GTA 5 was like throwing a boulder into a pool, Steph linking up with UA was like throwing volcanic rock, not knowing there was a diamond inside. The signing was significant for Under Armour because its basketball footwear division needed star power, but nobody could have ever predicted the run that would follow.

In hindsight, Steph’s Under Armour signature shoe line did not resonate with the audience at levels they needed to keep the partnership going, but there’s no denying the brief moment when momentum was on UA’s side.

Deion Sanders Returning to Nike (July 2023)

In May 2013, Andre Agassi returned to Nike after spending eight years with adidas. Technically, he falls under the “things that happened before we got GTA 5” category. However, Deion Sanders, aka Coach Prime, made his dramatic return to Nike in 2023, coinciding with his arrival at the University of Colorado and the first trailer for GTA 6.

Sanders' reunion with Nike after a tumultuous 2009 split was a little more shocking because of his public comments about refusing to ever work with the brand ever again after feeling underappreciated, underused, and underpaid. Under Armour would sign Sanders as an ambassador for the brand that same year, and the partnership featured plenty of high-profile moments even though the NFL Hall of Famer was long retired and deep into his coaching career by then.

Considering Sanders’ Florida ties (he played for Florida State from 1985 to 1988), it won’t be surprising if the game mentions that the Vice City Manatees, the Dolphins-esque football team that’s been depicted throughout the trailers, has a player with Sanders’ style and swagger.

The Complete adidas-Kanye West Saga (November 2013 - October 2022)

When Ye, FKA Kanye West, left Nike for adidas, the vibe shifted. Even though adidas was firmly entrenched as the #2 sportswear brand in the US, they did lose that position briefly to Under Armour (thanks, Steph) in 2014 before getting it back in 2016. What happened in between those years? Kanye. While his personal issues were already starting to bubble to the surface around this time, it was nothing that the most hyped sneaker partnership of the 2010s could not cover up for at least a few years. From the moment the Yeezy 750 debuted during NBA All-Star Weekend 2015 to the day he decided to throw it all away over some ignorant and hateful nonsense, it felt like nothing could stop Kanye from fulfilling his own prophecy of jumping over the Jumpman. It’ll never be what it once was, but only time will tell if Kanye’s current run with his own independent Yeezy footwear brand and the hopefully sincere rehabilitation of his public image will bring back at least some of the feeling.

A noted gamer who was in the process of developing his own title that was a tribute to his late mother, Kanye even went so far as to try to directly pitch his game to Nintendo’s Shigeru Miyamoto during E3 2015. West appeared in the soundtracks to GTA 4 and the DLC expansions and was reportedly going to be included in GTA 5 before being cut at the last second.

Kyrie Irving Starting and Ending a Nike Signature Shoe Line (December 2014 - December 2022)

Heading into the 2020s, Kyrie Irving was Nike Basketball’s version of a people’s champion. LeBron, Kobe, and KD might be the brand headliners, but Kyrie had the eyes, ears, and feet of the kids, not to mention their parents’ wallets. Introduced in late 2014, the Nike Kyrie line was a blend of good performance, attractive design, and affordable pricing. While Nike would replicate the formula with Paul George a few years later, Irving’s connection to his tribe set him apart from everybody at Nike Basketball and resulted in massive sales numbers for his shoes. Things would fall apart eight years later after the fallout from some of Kyrie’s more controversial stances off the court, as Nike terminated his contract months before it was set to end.

What Were the “Classic” LeBrons? (September 2013 - November 17, 2026)

Assuming he’s healthy by opening night, LeBron James will have played for four NBA teams in between the release dates of GTA 5 and 6. He won two NBA championships, the first NBA Cup, and a third Olympic gold medal. He broke a number of previously thought to be unbreakable records, including the all-time scoring mark held by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. It’s not even debatable that if we were to just take this part of his career and hold it up for inspection, it would be beyond Hall of Fame worthy.

But in the 13 NBA seasons that span the Nike LeBron 11 to the Nike LeBron 23 with a handful of retros and new colorways sprinkled along the way, what are the classics that people will fondly remember? Is it the golden Nike LeBron 22s that James wore when Team USA beat France in that epic gold medal game in 2024? The mismatched LeBron 7 in Lakers purple and gold that he wore to Media Day and in the NBA Bubble? The Nike LeBron Soldier 10s that he wore in Game 7 of the 2016 NBA Finals as he chased down Andre Iguodala for a game-saving block that shifted momentum back to Cleveland? A cynical LeBron hater will tell you there are no classic LeBron shoes, but it’s a lot more fun to debate his gems that are hiding in plain sight.

Jerry Lorenzo’s Journey Back to Nike(?) (December 2018 - January 2026)

The parallels between Jerry Lorenzo and Kanye West’s sneaker journeys run deep. After achieving their dreams of producing new Nike silhouettes, both ran into the wall that is Nike not looking at outside collaborators as having the potential to become full-time partners with executive positions. After leaving the Nike ecosystem, both would find the creative control, the financial compensation, and the fancy job titles they were looking for at adidas. The similarities would end there as Kanye’s run with adidas would produce billions in revenue and unquantifiable mind-share of the fanbase while people gave up on waiting for Jerry’s Fear of God adidas output after years of delays and lackluster releases. Their post-adidas endeavors would also vary greatly as Kanye has taken the independent route while Jerry is back to wearing Nikes, to little fanfare.

Caitlin Clark Getting a Signature Shoe (October 2026)

Nike made it just under the wire by releasing the Nike Caitlin 1 with about a month to spare before the release of GTA 6. But Caitlin Clark, the biggest and most controversial (through no fault of her own) star the WNBA has ever had, getting a signature before GTA 6 is not the shocker. What is shocking is that we only have the Nike Caitlin 1 before GTA 6. In a different era, a star of Clark’s magnitude would be on her third signature shoe by her third season.

LeBron James was already on to the Nike LeBron 3 by Year 3. Allen Iverson had the Reebok Question and the Answer 1 before debuting the Answer 2 during his breakout third season. Kobe Bryant and Kevin Durant did not have signature shoes during their rookie campaigns, but they were already on to their second shoes at the same time Clark was revealing her first. It’s a sign of the sneaker business that it took this long to get a Nike Caitlin 1, but like GTA 6, hopefully it was worth the wait.

New York Knicks Winning the NBA Championship (June 2026)

What does this have to do with sneakers? Nothing, but the Knicks fandom was the most passionate/insufferable of the iconic sports franchises with historic championship droughts so when they finally won a few months ago, the “Knicks won a ‘chip before GTA 6” jokes were flying all over the internet. New York’s connection to GTA runs deep as Liberty City, its NYC analog, has served as the location of several entries in the franchise (plus one memorable cameo in San Andreas). And if the rotation holds and Rockstar doesn’t decide to finally go international (arriving in 2040), GTA 7 could bring us back to Liberty City. Will the Knicks win another championship by then? It doesn’t seem so far-fetched.

Juan Martinez

From video game journalism to veteran of the sneaker blog era to podcasting about well, everything, Juan is smiling through it all and can't believe this is his life. His current hot take is that people are really underrating the Psyduck trading card market. Email: juan@soleretriever.com Instagram | Twitter | Bluesky | Threads : @ezyville