‘Grand Theft Auto 6’ Leaks Seemingly Confirm Setting, Protagonists

Several minutes of footage allegedly showing in-development work on Grand Theft Auto VI leaked yesterday (Sunday September 18), representing one of the biggest-ever breaches of security at a major game developer. Said developer, Rockstar Games, has yet to publicly confirm that the footage is of its next GTA title, but it seems pretty certain that it is. (Update: the company has now issued a statement.) In total around 90 clips were uploaded to GTAforums.com, and Rockstar’s parent company Take-Two has since attempted to take the footage down wherever it’s been posted.

Some of the footage - compiled in a YouTube video embedded below (unless Take-Two have KOed it, though the genie is rather out of the bottle by now) - shows an armed female protagonist holding up a diner before making their escape in a stolen police car, a scene in a strip club, further shoot-outs with cops and more. The setting appeals to be Vice City, based on the VCPD being written on a police car. It’s all very clearly a long way from being finished gameplay, as the next GTA entry isn’t expected to be released until 2024, but gaming reporter Jason Schreier tweeted after the leaks began to dominate social media: “Not that there was much doubt, but I’ve confirmed with Rockstar sources that this weekend’s massive Grand Theft Auto IV leak is indeed real.”

Schreier continued: “The footage is early and unfinished, of course. This is one of the biggest leaks in video game history.” It remains to be seen what damage this leak does to Rockstar’s development of this hugely anticipated new game, but surely there will be increased checks on who has access to material like the footage that’s leaked, and it’s likely that the spread of this early gameplay will only delay the title’s progress. 

While none of the footage should be assumed as being representative of the end product, the game we’ll get when GTA6 does release in a few years’ time, the presence of a female protagonist and the setting of Vice City does match the rumours we’ve been hearing for some time now. It seems to show dual protagonists too, another feature of the game that’s previously been mentioned. Elements of the game’s source code have also reportedly leaked online, providing further headaches for Rockstar as it seeks to clean up this mess.

In a twist to this story, the GTAforums user who claims to have acquired the 90 clips comprising this huge leak has issued a statement saying they’re keen to negotiate with Rockstar. As VGC reports, the user ‘teapotuberhacker’ wants to hear from Rockstar or Take-Two, but what they’d gain from such a conversation is unclear. As the distributor of all this stolen material they’re effectively a criminal (and going out of their way to publicise the fact), and if they’re in possession of more source code for the game trying to hold a huge company like Rockstar to ransom doesn’t seem the wisest move. When Rockstar lawyers up, you’d better be somewhere else, basically.