Watch Grand Theft Auto go to the stars in the 'Grand Theft Space' mod trailer

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The GTA5 mod 'Grand Theft Space' was revealed to the world, quietly and very prosaically, back near the start of the year. "I've heard little rumblings in the past of people wanting to make space mods. I've seen map-editor satellites, and space ship looking vehicles, the whole 9 yards. But nobody seems to have ever made it so you can actually go in space," developer Sollaholla wrote at the time. "So I said, 'Screw it, I'm gonna make a space mod.'"

Announcing a mod is easy, actually making one is not. But earlier this month, Sollaholla and his co-creators—Shaezbreizh, AHK1221, Unknown Modder, Pantyshot, JRod, SkylineGTRFreak, KAFAROS, TheMadBreaker—released a trailer showing off what they've come up with so far. It is spectacular.

What I love most about this trailer is the way it so smoothly and naturally progresses, from Columbia on the launch pad to the moon and beyond. Way beyond. It almost looks at first like a cinematic take on Kerbal Space Program, or maybe that Space Odyssey thing that Neil deGrasse Tyson is working on, but eventually things start to head off in a more GTA-appropriate direction, except with Death Ray Zorchers instead of a .45 auto.

In a way I feel like it almost doesn't matter if the Grand Theft Space mod never makes it to release: The video is so good that it's worth watching even as a "fake trailer." But obviously I would prefer to actually play it. All that GTA action, but in the endless, black void of space? That's basically the Mass Effect sequel I wanted all along.

There's no word on a release date, the trailer says that it's only "coming soon," but you can follow along with the action at gta5-mods.com.

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Andy has been gaming on PCs from the very beginning, starting as a youngster with text adventures and primitive action games on a cassette-based TRS80. From there he graduated to the glory days of Sierra Online adventures and Microprose sims, ran a local BBS, learned how to build PCs, and developed a longstanding love of RPGs, immersive sims, and shooters. He began writing videogame news in 2007 for The Escapist and somehow managed to avoid getting fired until 2014, when he joined the storied ranks of PC Gamer. He covers all aspects of the industry, from new game announcements and patch notes to legal disputes, Twitch beefs, esports, and Henry Cavill. Lots of Henry Cavill.