It’s been a decade since GTA 5 was released, and fans have been patiently waiting for Rockstar to finally announce the official release date for Grand Theft Auto VI. The 10-year wait has given rise to much speculation, especially after a major GTA VI data leak following a massive hack last year.
In this article, we’ll dig into everything we know so far about GTA VI, including the release date, information leaks, and the latest rumours.
GTA VI release date
So far, Rockstar Games, the developer of GTA, has not made an official announcement regarding the release date of Grand Theft Auto 6. The huge delay (10 years) in the production of GTA 6 was mainly due to COVID-19. The game has been in development since 2014, but had to be stopped as a result of the global pandemic, and then resumed in early 2022.
While GTA 6’s release date remains a mystery, it’s likely that Microsoft has accidentally dropped an hint about the game’s possible release date. If you don’t already know, the UK Competition and Markets Authority filed a lawsuit to block the Microsoft x Activision Blizzard merger. As a response to the UK CMA, Microsoft included in its statement: “The highly anticipated Grand Theft Auto VI is expected to launch in 2024.”
More Grand Theft Auto 6 Release Date Speculations
GTA VI Official Trailer Issue: On February 4, 2022, Rockstar Games confirmed in a Tweet that GTA VI is in active development, but fans were curious as to why the developers didn’t release a trailer for GTA 6. Looking back, most releases of Rockstar games began with a teaser announcement, usually followed by an official trailer a few days later. But this time, GTA VI did not release any official trailer, let alone an announcement, which left many fans in immense speculation about the actual state of the game’s development.
Keep in mind, though, that Rockstar Games still has the final straw and fans just have to wait until they make their official announcement on the GTA VI release date.
GTA VI and GTA Online 2 information leak
Here is a brief summary of the hacking attack that caused the leak of important information for GTA VI and GTA Online 2:
- On September 18, 2022, a certain teapotuberhacker posted on the GTA forums around 90 videos of what looked like footage from the unreleased and in-development version of GTA VI. The hacker then requested a negotiation deal with Rockstar Games in exchange for the apparently also stolen GTA V source code and the development version of GTA 6.
- On September 19, 2022, Rockstar Games tweeted that they suffered a network intrusion that led to the leak to the public of sensitive data, including the early stages of development of Grand Theft Auto.
Since then, the leaked videos have been shared on the internet and on numerous social media platforms. Take-Two, Rockstar’s parent company, immediately launched a takedown action on these videos, but it was too late.
The 90 videos leaked from teapotuberhacker were mainly the main source That sparked countless GTA VI rumors as it gave many GTA fans a picture of likely new and improved GTA VI gameplay, maps, characters, cars, structure and much more.
Gameplay and leaked rumors of GTA
DisclaimerA: This information is not officially confirmed and was made public illegally through a hacking attack. Therefore, whether or not these are facts is indeterminate.
These five rumors were mainly based after an article by Daniel Acker was published in Bloomberg News:
Rumor #1: GTA VI will have a female protagonist
Who is the female lead rumored to be coming to GTA VI? She is none other than Bonnie, inspired by the infamous American criminal Bonnie and Clyde. According Bloomberg, GTA 6 will feature a duo of protagonists similar to Bonnie and Clyde. If this were true, she would be the first playable female protagonist in Grand Theft Auto history. This would also serve as proof that Rockstar has started to take steps to become a more progressive and inclusive company, as they promised.
Rumor #2: GTA VI will get an expansion via DLC
Unlike GTA V, GTA VI is rumored to have continued map and structure expansion via DLC. This is quite a contrast to GTA V, which received a lot of complaints about the lack of DLC, meaning the gameplay and map stayed the same for a long time. This information was leaked by complexion2 on the GTA forum.
Rumor #3: GTA VI has a new game engine
A Rockstar member, Chris Kilppel, leaked the information that GTA 6 will have an improved version of RAGE (Rockstar Advanced Game Engine). To meet the expectations of millions of fans of this highly anticipated game, it is rumored that GTA 6 will feature a completely new engine which could also mean the possibility of more diverse missions and different gameplay mechanics.
Rumor #4: GTA VI will bring back Vice City
The rumor that the iconic setting of GTA, Vice City, will return to GTA VI was founded after the leaked 90 Teapotuberhacker videos. In one of the images, the initial “VCPD” is seen in the back of police cars during a shootout with Lucia, the rumored leading lady of GTA.
Another video also revealed a building by the name of the Vice City Neighborhood Enhancement Center that was shown behind Lucia as she hid in the back seat of a car.
Rumor #5: GTA VI Will Bring Back Old Characters From Previous GTA Games
While GTA VI is rumored to have a new female lead which got a lot of fans very excited, GTA VI will apparently be bringing back old favorites as well. Characters rumored to be returning for GTA VI are all-time beloved figures Carl Johnson, Trevor and Tommy Vercetti!