Credible GTA Online "Leaks" Aren't Guarantees
A recent discovery based on code snippets found in the game files of GTA Online has lead to the assumption that the game will be receiving Biker themed DLC. Such an update has been hotly requested ever since the launch of the Online component of Rockstar Games' open world action-adventure hit. Heck, this unconfirmed leak might even have contributed to the unexpected sales boom that propelled the game to the top of the UK charts (but probably not).
The history of GTA Online is filled with fake leaks. Due to the insatiable and ever present hunger for more content, or information on more content in lieu of the former, made potential leaks extremely popular. People with no actual information crafted fakes with varying levels of believability, hungry for the clicks and video views such stories are guaranteed to catch.
We'll be the first to admit that we covered many of these. In some cases we too believed the more credible-looking leaks, but we usually caught the fake ones (and warned you guys about them). We'll continue to run these stories since we think it's important for you guys to see some objective reporting on them. The possibility of a Biker DLC alone has set the GTA community on fire, mainly because the leak came from people who proved to be legit in the past.
But we can't stress one thing enough: take everything with a grain of salt.
You might think that any publicity, even news of leaks, is helping Rockstar in the long run. However, there is a reason leaks are generally shunned by developers. Marketing departments with plenty of learned and experienced people set specific announcement dates for specific reasons. Plenty of research goes into it. Days on which trailers are released or written posts published are not trivial. Third party leaks completely toss up the marketing schedule of a developer, which is why companies usually try their best to prevent them, even in spite of the additional free publicity.
But you know what is even more damaging? Fake leaks. They happen all the time and sometimes even those whose info proved to be good in the past might sow the seeds of fabricated rumors for attention until the next actual leak comes around. The Biker update for GTA Online has been requested for so long by so many that it almost seems too good to be true.
So what if it isn't? Stories of such a leak would produce insane amounts of traffic and views for those perpetrating them. Such amounts, that it might be worth risking one's reputation for. There might very well be a Biker DLC on the way for GTA Online, but even if there is, these words still ring true. Image editing, hacking and modding are all ways to fake a leak that seems so real that you'd never doubt it.
But you always have to doubt. If it isn't official news from official sources, never take it as 100%, never take it as guarantee.
How much faith are you putting in news of a Biker DLC coming to GTA Online?