Grand Theft Auto fans will have to wait until later this month for a deep dive into the next game in the series, which will premiere on Netflix before hitting YouTube later that day (though probably much sooner on unofficial channels). But despite Rockstar Games’ efforts to keep a tight lid on Grand Theft Auto VI leaks — especially after the 2022 incident — some legitimate-looking gameplay footage is now out there.
The publisher has reportedly been hitting people who are sharing two minute-long gameplay clips and a screenshot of the Florida-inspired map with DMCA takedown notices. While we can’t share the materials here or tell you where to find them, you’re a citizen of the internet. You may just stumble upon them yourself. What we can do, however, is describe what we’ve seen.
Let’s start with the map of Leonida, which looks like a distorted, compact version of south Florida. As with GTA V, it features a large city (Rockstar’s version of Miami this time). That’s on the east of Leonida, with lots of greenspace in the west and the north. There are many, many large and small islands dotted across the map, with a group that looks like the Florida keys in the south. There are a bunch of markers on the screenshot as well. Most are nondescript, but others include a home icon, a balaclava-covered face, cars and (gulp) an alligator.
One clip shows Jason, one of the game’s dual protagonists, at a waterside home. There’s gym equipment on the balcony, which brings to mind the workouts from GTA San Andreas. Jason hops over the ledge and runs by a jetski before picking up a basketball and making a few shots. After he scores with his first attempt, he gets a focus stat boost, which suggests GTA VI will lean into RPG mechanics.
There isn’t much else to speak of in terms of the HUD in this clip. There are two dollar values in the top right of the screen that match the font from previous games. What seems to be a focus bar appears in the top left when Jason has the basketball in hand.
For what it’s worth, the building looks identical to one that appears in an official screenshot of GTA VI. It’s labeled as Jason’s safehouse on the game’s website.
The second clip has more action. It opens with Jason looking like he’s about to drive over a bridge toward an area called The Keys before making a U-turn and causing relatively mild carnage.
After colliding with a delivery truck, he and the driver get in a fight. Jason kills the guy with a wrench (each swing of which depletes an energy bar) the latter was holding. This earns Jason a two-star wanted level. A devil icon with a minus sign appears on the right of the screen, as well as on a portrait of Jason that pops up. This indicates there’s an honor/karma system, like in the Red Dead Redemption series.
As Jason returns to his vehicle, “loadout” and “storage” prompts briefly appear, suggesting that you can change your weapons and store items (say, a wrench) in your car. After he gets back in the driver’s seat, an icon pops up with the car’s name and a gas meter, so it looks like you’ll have to fuel up your vehicles this time. The clip — which also features a GTA V-esque minimap — ends just as Jason approaches an air ambulance.
It’s worth treating the clips and map with some skepticism, since they may not be entirely legitimate. It’s also unclear how old they are and what may have changed in the meantime, though Rockstar’s servers were breached earlier this year. They’re at least plausible looks at GTA VI.
The materials are watermarked with URLs that claim to offer fans more details alongside a “fighting for gamers’ rights” message. The alleged leaker claimed to have released the footage and screenshot to protest Rockstar’s decision to only include a code in the box of the game’s physical edition, rather than a disc. They’re threatening further action against Rockstar and other publishers over purported anti-consumer practices like digital pre-orders, “fake single-player DLC” and failing to maintain access to single-player games.
Grand Theft Auto VI will hit PS5 and Xbox Series X/S on November 19. An extended look at the game will stream first on Netflix on August 27.
