90+ GTA 6 videos and screenshots allegedly leak online
UPDATE: Rockstar issues statement.
UPDATE 19/9/22: Rockstar has commented on the GTA 6 leak from over the weekend - here's our full coverage.
ORIGINAL STORY 18/9/22: 90+ screenshots and videos reportedly taken from GTA 6 have leaked online.
Whilst there's no way of authenticating them, the initially hostile response on the GTA Forums eventually softened as posters began to believe that the leaked assets were genuine.
Whilst, naturally, the unfinished game has missing assets and features, the videos give a rudimentary peek at the protagonists, the open world, and even the shooter's combat, totalling over seven minutes' worth of unsanctioned footage.
If real – and right now, the consensus is that it is – it seems to back-up prior claims that the game's set in Vice City and features a female protagonist: a first for the franchise. The dialogue system and animations also look similar to those used in Red Dead Redemption 2, although those may only be temporary, of course.
"i've just created this account just to say I WAS HERE. GTA VI HERE WE GO!!!," replied one excited commenter.
Rockstar finally confirmed development on GTA 6 was "well underway" earlier this year, and while official details remain extremely limited, a report by Bloomberg's Jason Schreier in June shared a number of tantalising details about the project, claiming it'll be set in Miami and will feature the series' first female protagonist as part of a Bonny and Clyde-style duo – two things seemingly backed up by today's leaks.
Rockstar has long faced intense criticism around its company culture and reliance on crunch - things came to a head in 2018 when Rockstar co-founder Dan Houser, who left the company in 2020, said employees had worked "100-hour weeks" to finish Red Dead Redemption 2 - but Bloomberg's report claimed the studio has been working to improve its culture in recent times, having implemented the likes of a new flexitime policy to immediately gain back extra time spent working, a narrowed gender pay gap, and the hiring of additional producers to ensure workloads are better managed.