After a leak about GTA 6 in 2022 left some fans disillusioned, a number of developers published videos and images of what their games looked like during development.
The huge leak about GTA 6 in 2022 was an absolute blast. However, some fans were anything but enthusiastic about the material.
A number of comments at the time rated the graphics as worse than expected and more likeGTA 5.However, this did not take into account that the game was still in the middle of the development phase.
In the aftermath, some external developerscame forward and showed what their games looked like during the development process. There is everything from absurdly funny to absolutely unattractive. At release, however, the titles were all graphically flawless.
By the way, we now know that GTA 6 will look much better than the leak suggested!
Some developers also sarcastically highlighted the argument of some fans at the time that the graphics were one of the first steps in development – which is obviously not true. But enough of the long speech, let’s get started:
Detroit: Become Human
The official Twitter account of the story adventureDetroit: Become Humangives us a little insight into the unfinished first mission of the game. You won’t find any details here, and the animations could hardly be stiffer. The final product was an absolute beauty.
Making a video game is a long journey, and as for any other art form, it all starts with a sketch.
Here’s what DetroitBecomeHuman looked like in its early stages! pic.twitter.com/WctUSgBrCg– Detroit: Become Human (@Detroit_Game) September 21, 2022
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Horizon: Zero Dawn
Even the initially Playstation-exclusive Horizon: Zero Dawn wasn’t full of fascinating robo-dinos from the very beginning. In the following picture, we see a mighty thunder jaw, which looked more like a child’s toy at the time of development.
“Graphics are the first thing finished in a video game”
Here’s a Thunderjaw from an early build of Horizon: Zero Dawn pic.twitter.com/Xq6fw5fS0e
– Cian Maher (@cianmaher0) September 20, 2022
Destiny
In the loot shooter Destiny, there is also a considerable difference between an early alpha and the final product. We probably don’t need to mention which version can be seen on which page.
“Graphics are the first thing finished in a video game”
Don’t ever trigger game devs, especially when know nothing their work.
Below is @Bungie‘s Destiny‘s early Alpha build vs Destiny Rise of Iron pic.twitter.com/9Np6gqlshv
– Excelhedge (@Excelhedge) September 20, 2022
Uncharted 4
Kurt Margenau, co-lead designer of Uncharted 4, published the chase with the jeep on Madagascar on Twitter. The only thing that looks halfway finished is Nathan’s vehicle. Outside the vehicle, the treasure hunter is surrounded by placeholders.
Here’s that downhill chase section played in blockmesh vs art blockmesh vs final art. There are a million stages between. blocktober pic.twitter.com/goTrkE2XEM
– Kurt Margenau (@kurtmargenau) October 4, 2017
Last of Us
The official Twitter account of Naughty Dog Central also shows a short clip from the development phase of The Last of Us. The environment is more reminiscent of Roblox than a zombie-infested game world.
Yes..this is what the Last of Us looked like in it’s development stages.
Every game you ever played went through this. pic.twitter.com/acNFSRjIAo
– Naughty Dog Central (@NaughtyNDC) September 20, 2022
God of War
Santa Monica’s action masterpiece from 2018 was not a feast for the eyes right from the start. In the following video, we see the first fight between Kratos and Baldur, although the latter is barely recognizable. Apart from a few trees and rocks, there is also a complete lack of environmental detail.
Cult of the Lamb
But the building game Cult of the Lamb also looked very different at first. Instead of cuddly graphics and a heap of details, only the bare essentials were shown. If this had been the final version, Cult of the Lamb would probably not have scored quite as well in our test.
“Graphics are the first thing finished in a video game”
Here’s what early versions of Cult of the Lamb looked like pic.twitter.com/F5EyEH6M9r
– Cult of the Lamb (@cultofthelamb) September 20, 2022
Star Citizen, Dead Space, Starfield and Jedi: Fallen Order
Twitter user The Spaceshipper has published four images of unfinished game titles. Top left isStar Citizen, top right is the unfinished state ofDead Space, bottom left is probably an early version ofStarfieldand bottom right is the Star Wars adventureJedi: Fallen Order.
Apart from the entitled angry gamers (aka our toxic fandoms), it’s surprising to see with this GTA 6 leak that most people don’t know what a game looks like in development.
Here are examples for Star Citizen, Dead Space, Starfield & Jedi: Fallen Order. https://t.co/4RVpMfS9ph pic.twitter.com/p2MrZ7PHmK
– The Spaceshipper (@TheSpaceshipper) September 19, 2022
Control
The graphically impressive Control also looked much less outstanding during development. The title even won several awards for its excellent graphics, as lead designer Paul Ehreth emphasizes:
Since graphics are the first thing finished in a video game, and CONTROL won multiple awards for excellence in graphics, here is footage from the beginning of development 🙂
Full video here: https://t. co/l2g7oPhtk7
pic.twitter.com/cGnmJZXF5E– Paul Ehreth ⚓️✨ (@bacon_sanwich) September 20, 2022
More games in development
But that’s not all: many other developers have published unfinished material of their games that have now been released. If you want to see these, simply follow the respective link:
As you can see, it’s not worth drawing conclusions about the finished graphics based on leaked material. Because they can still change massively.
Hopefully, the developers’ insights will help us to classify such leaks correctly in future. May the reactions be a little more relaxed next time!
