GTA 6: Industry Vets Give Devs At Rockstar Support Following Leaks

Details about and footage of Rockstar's Grand Theft Auto 6, the highly anticipated sequel to one of the best-selling games of all time, leaked over the weekend. Someone, by some means, obtained what was believed to be a trove of assets for the game in one of the biggest gaming leaks in recent memory. Developers from across the industry have reacted to the fallout, sharing sympathy for the developers at Rockstar.

Xbox's Sarah Bond, for example, said she feels for the team after their hard work was "revealed and critiqued before it's ready."

Naughty Dog's Neil Druckmann, meanwhile, said the recent GTA 6 leak will eventually become only a "footnote on a Wikipedia page." Druckmann is, of course, no stranger to a big leak, with details and footage about The Last of Us: Part II, including a massive spoiler, emerging before the game was officially released in 2020.

Rami Ismail, who worked at Ridiculous Fishing studio Vlambeer and is now a consultant, said the GTA 6 leak highlights a wider trend in the gaming space where developers purposefully choose to keep quiet and not show their games before they are ready. Many people reacted negatively to the GTA 6 leak, saying the footage didn't look very good and wasn't a big enough leap from GTA 5 to get excited about. What people might have seen in the leak is probably very out of date and not representative of the game currently or what it may look like at launch. The games industry's penchant for secrecy might be attributable in part to a lack of understanding and appreciation for how game development actually works, developers have said.

"The reason developers aren't more transparent is because it tends to end up with a significant amount of death threats & harassment," Ismail said. "Devs don't have an obsession with secrecy, we just prefer our job without being told we suck at it & should be maimed because of some placeholders."

The GTA 6 leak seemingly corroborated reports that the game is set in Vice City and will feature a Bonnie & Clyde-inspired heist story. Following the emergence of the leak, Rockstar owner Take-Two filed DMCA requests to remove footage from the internet. Additionally, the forum that originally hosted the leak, GTAForums, has removed the post at the request of Take-Two.

Rockstar Games responded to the leak, saying it was the result of a "network intrusion" from an "unauthorized third party." Rockstar said the intrusion was illegal, so lawsuits and other legal proceedings may be coming.

Despite the intrusion, Rockstar said there shouldn't be any "long-term effect" on its ongoing projects, including GTA 6. Rockstar further stated that it is "extremely disappointed" that the leak happened, but it remains committed to making the game something that exceeds expectations.

Rockstar Games has confirmed the next GTA is in production, saying in February this year that development was "well underway." Take-Two management believes the game will set "new creative benchmarks" for the series. A release date hasn't been announced yet, but GTA 6--or whatever it ends up being called--is not expected to be released soon.