Alleged Grand Theft Auto 6 leaks are so plentiful you could fill a stadium with them, but occasionally some stand out from the crowd by either being more plausible or ridiculously bold faced.
You can decide for yourself which category you think this latest, massive GTA 6 leak belongs to.
4Chan is pretty notorious as far as websites go, and is known for being a haven of video game leakers — among a laundry list of other, unsavory stuff that isn't allowed anywhere else online. While most game related 4Chan leaks end up being duds, there is a reasonably high margin of info that turns out to be legit.
Recently someone claiming to be a "primary developer" at Rockstar Games held a pair of AMA — "ask me anything" — sessions on the site. The leaker remained anonymous, allegedly to protect their career, which greatly damages the credibility of the information posted. Moderators swiftly removed the first AMA thread, but users were quick to take notes from both it and the second, thus some information lives on.
The combined details contained in both AMAs is extensive. A lot of this seems plausible, some of it is vague enough that a person with no inside knowledge could reliably guess, and a few points stick out as possible red flags indicating that the leak is a hoax, but none are particularly obvious. While parts of this may end up being true, we doubt all of it is legit. As always with leaks, definitely take these details with a pinch of salt.
Regarding the release of the game, the leaker claims that currently October 2023 is the projected launch window. While Rockstar is known for keeping their games in the oven a good long time, this seems a little bit suspicious, considering the time since the launch of GTA 5 has already surpassed any interim period between games in the series prior. Realistically there is no way the game will release this year, granted, but an early-mid 2022 prediction would be more believable. The game will first launch on consoles, with a PC version following it a year later.
Allegedly Red Dead Redemption is being remastered, and that project is taking precedence currently because it is slated to be released before GTA 6. Speaking of Red Dead Redemption, the leaker alleges that RDR2 had a major influence on the direction Rockstar is taking GTA 6 in.
The chapter system will make a return, temporary locations outside the open world will be featured — like Guarma in RDR2 — and the story will take a more emotional tone than previous GTA titles, though not quite as emotional as Arthur's story. In the second AMA, the leaker specified that there will be a linear visit to Liberty City, and also a brief chapter on a Cuban island.
NPC behavior is also much more like in Red Dead Redemption 2, with peds and enemies reacting more dynamically and giving players more options. It is possible to get out of a wanted state by bribing the cops chasing you, provided your crimes are minor. Another RDR2 comparison came up when the leaker was asked about the map, saying that it will be smaller, but more dense.
This was then refuted in the second AMA, where the leaker corrected themselves saying the landmass is larger, but since there are faster modes of transport available players will be able to cross the entire map faster. The map will still be dense however, featuring a great many interior sections, and players will be able to enter buildings more freely than in GTA 5. This seems like one of those trip-ups that does the most to call the legitimacy of the leak into question.
The bulk of the questions were aimed at the story and characters appearing in GTA 6. According to the leaker, there will be "a white male, roughly 6'1" and has a "sun-kissed" tan who is an Italian raised in America and has jet black hair". This is a new character, but their name would spoil the storyline, so that was not revealed. The character has a sister and mother who play a role in the story, with their father dead by the time of the game's events. Addressing popular rumors about a female protagonist, the leaker said it was considered but ultimately abandoned.
Rumors about a Vice City setting line up with this latest leak. Vice City and the surrounding areas of the fictional state based on Florida will be accessible, and the game will be set in the 1980's following a brief prologue section in 1970. The 80's setting will be a central thematic touchstone, with all of the satirical humor GTA is known for revolving around typical 80's culture.
Taking a page from San Andreas's book, there are some extra role play elements to the gameplay, allowing you to alter the protagonist's physical appearance depending on how much the work out and what they eat. Players will have to manually make the character eat frequently to ensure that they grow over time, and work out frequently to become muscular. That said, the degree of body changes won't be as major as they were in San Andreas. For the first time, a morality system will also be introduced.
There will be multiple callbacks to Vice City, however players won't be meeting the previous protagonist, Tommy Vercetti. Players will meet Ken Rosenberg who will mention Tommy several times, however. Other factions and characters from various GTA titles will appear, but the leaker didn't provide more details.
In terms of gameplay information, there's plenty to dig through. Vehicle customization will be more involved than it is in GTA 5, and while mostly the same types of vehicles will be available, it will all be more grounded in reality — expect a selection more like what we have in GTA 5's story mode, rather than what we now have in Online.
The range of mini-games has been expanded to include surfing, windsurfing and roller derby with others that haven't been mentioned. Combat will be more visceral, with the possibility to sever limbs and cause major lacerations with melee weapons. Unarmed combat will be featured more prominently, with a deeper fist fight mechanic incorporating multiple moves and stances.
What may be the biggest set of red flags which call the legitimacy of this entire leak into question is what was said about a multiplayer mode. According to the leaker, GTA 6 will have a full fledged Online mode launching a few months after the main game. It already had a large quantity of content made ready, and will feature dialed back monetization features.
Considering that Rockstar has officially stated that the size and scope of the next GTA game will be reduced, coupled with the ongoing massive success of GTA Online and its upcoming standalone release makes this seem like a completely nonsensical claim. The most likely scenario is that GTA 6 won't feature any multiplayer at all, and if it does, it will be a smaller, lobby based affair rather than a full blown MMO-Lite like Online.
Between the map-size blunder and the highly unlikely details about GTA 6's Online mode, we're more on the skeptical side with this particular leak. A lot of these gameplay details are vague enough to simply be educated guesses that may come true, but it seems that we'll have to wait and see.
