‘GTA VI’ Leaker Reveals Their Motivations, Promises More To Come - Forbes
Rockstar was hit Tuesday night by yet another leak of Grand Theft Auto VI footage just a few months ahead of the game’s release in November. Cyberleek promises to release more screenshots on Wednesday. Rockstar has not yet issued a public statement.
Rockstar was hit Tuesday night by yet another leak of Grand Theft Auto VI footage just a few months ahead of the game’s release in November. The leaker, known as Cyberleek, has shared images of gameplay and the map of GTA VI, prompting Take-Two to issue takedown requests, though the social-media spread is largely uncontrolled.
Cyberleek has actually spelled out their motivations for leaking the content. In a statement, they said: “A digital copy cannot sell out. Yet publishers kept the preorder system and stripped away its only consumer benefit. Now gamers pay early and receive nothing in return except a countdown timer and a cosmetic skin."
This leak comes after Take-Two announced there would be no physical copies of GTA VI for consoles. Purchasing a box copy would contain nothing more than a code. The move coincides with Sony’s announcement it would stop producing physical games in 2028; Rockstar’s move starts this year, when it will net the game studio a better return on an $80 game expected to sell tens of millions of copies.
The leaker may have other motives here: Many of the releases contain watermarks promoting a cryptocurrency for purchase, suggesting the leaker is trying to get something out of this besides internet infamy.
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Some online commenters are criticizing the quality of the leaked images; one clip shows Jason getting out of a car and using a wrench to beat to death a driver. The movement and visuals seem underwhelming to some. However, Cyberleek has confirmed that the leaked clip is from 2023, and a whole lot of work has been put in since for this late-2026 release.
The leak has also revealed previously unknown details, like a fuel gauge on cars and a claim that GTA VI will feature currency that can be traded for real-life money, similar to Roblox.
Cyberleek promises to release more screenshots on Wednesday. (Update: Shortly after this article was initially published, more leaks of gameplay, including a cutscene, have been uploaded.)
The leaks hardly seem devastating to the game’s prospects, but they’re sure to infuriate executives at Rockstar, which will reveal GTA VI gameplay and systems on Netflix and YouTube in just over a week. The studio certainly can’t be happy that people are spreading and debating three-year-old clips — without context — ahead of the game’s launch.
There is an uneven history of leakers in all types of media getting caught or slipping away. One of the most famous cases is a man who uploaded an unfinished version of X-Men Origins: Wolverine online. He was eventually caught and sentenced to a year in federal prison.
This story is ongoing, and we will see what may hit the internet soon. Reportedly a new leak has just been released within the last half hour. Rockstar has not yet issued a public statement.
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