GTA 6 is out of the bag: A huge leak shows gameplay for the first time. Massive details come to light ahead of time
Surprise! This is probably the fastest we’ve ever been on our feet on a leisurely Sunday morning: GTA 6 was presumably leaked. Several videos show massive gameplay and details from an early version.
But of course, as always: A leak is not confirmed material. And from experience, developer Rockstar will not make any public statements about this.
However, since we think they look credible and are already being hotly discussed on the net, we have decided to present the leak to you in a clear and serious manner. So read on at your own risk.
What happened?
Masses of images and gameplay – allegedly for GTA 6 – suddenly appeared on (GTA Forums) and (Reddit) . These are said to have come from a hacker who gained access to the company’s internal Slack, which is Rockstar’s communication tool.
Caution: Much of the content is said to be from an early pre-alpha phase . Parts of the footage could possibly be from 2019 or 2020, as Windows 10 version 1909 is used in some of the videos. This was released in November 2019 and replaced by version 2004 in May 2020.
It is not possible to make a final judgement as to how old the build shown is: In other footage, there is evidence of an RTX 3080 GPU being used, running a driver from March 2022. However, this only shows that the footage was taken a few months ago – not how old the version of the game is
All that is certain is: much of what is seen is obviously outdated or not yet final.
Who is the leak from and how credible is it?
The material was allegedly shared by the same hacker who hacked into the system of the ride service provider Uber a few days ago. Apparently, he managed to do so via a hack of the communication tool Slack, in which internal company information is shared. This is supported by the fact that in some clips the notification tone of Slack can be heard.
I’ve been out of the loop but it’s hilarious to me that people are acting up over leaked test footage https://t.co/pH90GJfglf
– Bill E Us (@lordbillious) September 18, 2022
In the meantime, the leak is going around the world and is already doing the rounds on Twitter. In terms of content, many of the details shown speak for the credibility of the material.
Now industry expert Jason Schreier has announced via Twitter that his Rockstar sources confirmed the truth of the leak to him “This is one of the biggest leaks in video game history and a nightmare for Rockstar Games. ”
The images shown also match his previous info on GTA 6:
Not that there was much doubt, but I’ve confirmed with Rockstar sources that this weekend’s massive Grand Theft Auto VI leak is indeed real. The footage is early and unfinished, of course. This is one of the biggest leaks in video game history and a nightmare for Rockstar Games
– Jason Schreier (@jasonschreier) September 18, 2022
Some of the info shown coincides with previous leaks and rumours, while others may be contradicted by the footage.
What can be seen in the alleged leak?
The leak shows several clips and images of the setting, the main characters and many gameplay elements. For example, the heroine can be seen in a shootout with the police.
The protagonist also seems to have a certain resemblance to actress Alexandra Christina who was previously suspected as a possible performer of the main character. The presumed male main character can also be seen. For example, in an NPC conversation, in a shootout, in a melee and also while swimming.
- Female protagonist with different skin
- Male protagonist – shootout
- Male protagonist – scuffle
- Male protagonist – Swimming animation
- Shooting from the car
The clip with the NPC conversation also mentions the Lifeinvader brand that exists in the world of GTA. Also, in the clips LTD Gasoline can be seen in the background – also a detail from existing GTA lore.
Beware: The links might not work anymore soon, because Rockstar is taking action against uploads of the material!
There is also something interesting to see about the setting. A (zoomed-in version of the map) shows a collection of buildings that clearly reminds of the airport of Vice City. In addition, there were shots of a nightclub to see.
Interesting detail: In one clip, a novel form of inventory management can also be seen. Apparently, at least in the leaked version, characters could no longer carry around hundreds of weapons, a crowbar and a sofa without explanation. For here the supposed protagonist can be seen carrying a shoulder bag and corresponding equipment slots.
In one clip, Red Dead Redemption 2’s walking animation appears to be seen – possibly as a placeholder during development.
More exciting info from the leaked videos:
- The female lead character is named Lucia, the male is named Jason.
- A new area is called Port Gellhorn.
- Weapons can be switched between hands and picked up from the ground.
- You can now lay on the ground properly.
- Instead of five, there is now a maximum of six stars in the manhunt level.
- You can carry people on your shoulders.
- There will probably be jetpacks and horses as means of transport.
- There is a messenger app called WhatsUp – a reference to WhatsApp.
- Gameplay was recorded on Playstation 4 and PC, using a Geforce 1080 GTX among others.
Leaks show ingame events and weapons
On closer inspection, the 90 or so videos also show (many ingame events) as discovered by user Kalentan from the ResetEra forum. These side quests apparently come in two different forms:
- Static events are side missions staged by the developers.
- Dynamic events are randomly generated quests, as already known from Read Dead Redemption 2.
The screenshot shows the more or less cryptic names of the following events:
- Bonnie & Clyde Mystery
- Lost at Sea
- Island Camp
- Monument of Leonidas
- Deserted Research Outpost
- Backyard Wrestling
- A lost aircraft
- Pair Work Out Challenge
- Lost Plane
In a now deleted post on the GTAForums website, user (ArmanM7503) listed all the weapons used in the videos.
- Knife
- Gun
- Heavy machine gun
- Grenade
- Pump action shotgun
- Flash grenade
- Sniper rifle
- Torch
- Missile
- harpoon
- Golf ball
- Compact SMG
- Smoke grenade
- Breaking bar
- Hunter Sniper
- binoculars
- Sniper with bolt lock
- Golf iron
- baseball bat
- Molotov
- billiard cue
- Attack rifle
- Micro SMG
What is Rockstar’s reaction to the leak?
Developer Rockstar Games has since commented on the leak of historic proportions in a Twitter post. This should finally confirm the truth of the leaked information:
A Message from Rockstar Games pic.twitter.com/T4Wztu8RW8
– Rockstar Games (@RockstarGames) September 19, 2022
“Recently, an unauthorised third party illegally accessed and downloaded confidential information on our network from our systems, including early development material for the next Grand Theft Auto. At this time, we do not anticipate any disruption to our live services or any long-term impact on the development of our ongoing projects.
We are very disappointed that we have had to share details about our next game with you all in this way. Our work on the next Grand Theft Auto will continue as planned and, as always, we will be committed to providing you, our players, with an experience that exceeds your expectations. We will update you again soon and, of course, properly introduce you to the next game when it is ready. We’d like to thank everyone for your continued support during this situation.
The Rockstar Games Team
But finally a warning: The informative value of the material for the final game is very limited, because the material is already a few years old, works with a lot of placeholders and is therefore only rudimentarily representative of the final game. Also and especially because publisher Take-Two can take all the time in the world with GTA 6. ”
