Grand Theft Auto VI is an upcoming action-adventure game developed and published by Rockstar Games. It is due to be the eighth main Grand Theft Auto game, following Grand Theft Auto V (2013), and the sixteenth entry overall. Set within the fictional US state of Leonida, based on Florida, the story follows the romantic criminal duo of Jason Duval and Lucia Caminos. Players will be able to freely roam Leonida’s open world, which features the Miami-inspired Vice City.
Following years of speculation and anticipation, Rockstar confirmed in February 2022 that the game was in development. That September, footage from unfinished versions was leaked in what journalists described as one of the biggest leaks in the history of the video game industry. Grand Theft Auto VI was formally revealed in December 2023. Following two delays and further leaks, it is scheduled to be released on 19 November 2026 for the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S.
Setting and characters
Grand Theft Auto VI is a single-player, action-adventure game set within an open world. Its fictional US state of Leonida, based on Florida, includes Vice City, Grassrivers, and the Leonida Keys (inspired by Miami, the Everglades, and the Florida Keys, respectively), as well as Ambrosia, Mount Kalaga National Park, and Port Gellhorn. The game world parodies 2020s American culture, with satirical depictions of social media and influencer culture, modern law enforcement tactics and technology such as police body cameras, and references to Internet memes such as Florida Man.
The story follows a criminal couple: Jason Duval, who worked for local drug runners in the Leonida Keys after serving in the Army; and Lucia Caminos, the series’s first non-optional female protagonist, who was imprisoned at Leonida Penitentiary after fighting for her family from Liberty City. Following a failed bank heist, the duo encounter a state-wide conspiracy and are forced to protect each other. Other characters include: Cal Hampton, Jason’s paranoid friend; Boobie Ike, who runs a business empire in Vice City; Dre’Quan Priest, owner of the record label Only Raw Records with Boobie; Bae-Luxe and Roxy, a musical duo signed to Only Raw under the name Real Dimez; Raul Bautista, a seasoned bank robber; and Brian Heder, a longtime drug runner in the Keys and Jason’s landlord.
Development and release
Rockstar Games began preliminary work on Grand Theft Auto VI in 2014 after Grand Theft Auto V‘s release, with early development starting in late 2018 following Red Dead Redemption 2. Principal production began in 2020, code-named Project Americas. Details about the game emerged from insider reports over several years, and the lack of official acknowledgement received media attention. Jason Schreier reported the developers were avoiding their standard crunch practices and were cautiously subverting the series’s trend of joking about marginalised groups. The game is expected to use the Rockstar Advanced Game Engine. It is the first main Grand Theft Auto game since the 1997 original (and the first overall since 2004’s Advance) not to be written by Dan Houser, who left Rockstar in 2020. Rumours and analysts suggested the budget surpassed US$1–2 billion, making it the most expensive game ever developed, though the figure remains unverified.
Rockstar confirmed development was “well underway” on 4 February 2022, and resources were reallocated from Red Dead Online and remasters to prioritise development. The game became highly anticipated, for which it won awards at the Game Awards and Golden Joystick Awards in both 2024 and 2025; scammers used the anticipation to promote malware and fraud through false promises of early access. A meme indicated bemusement that surprising events occurred “before GTA 6“. Several publishers rescheduled their games to avoid competition; Schreier called it “a massive game of 4D chess playing out across the entire video-game industry”. Industry figures hoped the game would set new pricing trends, and analysts predicted record-breaking revenue. A U.S. Army unit in Georgia offered soldiers a pass to play the game to incentivise enlistment.
Rockstar requested employees cease remote work and return to offices from April 2024 “for productivity and security” as the release date neared. The Independent Workers’ Union of Great Britain (IWGB) criticised Rockstar for contradicting promises to maintain flexible working conditions; employees were concerned that impacts to health and morale could prompt resignations and crunch, especially as managers still maintained flexibility. Despite reports, Rockstar’s parent company Take-Two Interactive said the game remained on schedule for late 2025, though employees were doubtful due to the amount of remaining work; in May 2025, the game was delayed to 26 May 2026. Rockstar fired 34 employees in October 2025, citing public discussion and distribution of confidential information. The IWGB accused Rockstar of union busting, stating the employees were attempting to unionise with labour organisers. The following week, Rockstar delayed the game to 19 November 2026, citing additional polish. Journalists noted the firings did not cause the delay but could impact deadlines; a Rockstar North employee said morale was “at rock bottom”.
Promotion
Rockstar announced that the first trailer would release in December 2023 for the company’s 25th anniversary. A low-quality version was leaked one day early on 4 December; Rockstar published the official version in response, revealing the title, protagonists, setting, and 2025 release window for the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X and Series S. The trailer broke some YouTube records within the first day, and surpassed the lifetime viewership of Grand Theft Auto V‘s 2011 reveal trailer within two days, with 101 million views. It spawned several fan-created recreations, and its featured song, Tom Petty’s “Love Is a Long Road”, increased in popularity. A second trailer was released on 6 May 2025, alongside a website update with 70 screenshots and several character and location descriptions. The trailer, recorded on the PlayStation 5, features the Pointer Sisters’ song “Hot Together”, Wang Chung’s “Everybody Have Fun Tonight”, “Child Support” by Zenglen, and Tammy Wynette’s “Talkin’ to Myself Again”. It received a record 475 million views across all platforms within 24 hours, and won Best Game Trailer at the Golden Joystick Awards in 2025.
Rockstar unveiled the cover art and special editions on 18 June 2026: the Ultimate Edition grants additional items and missions, while preorders receive the Vintage Vice City Pack, featuring in-game items inspired by Grand Theft Auto: Vice City (2002) and its protagonist, Tommy Vercetti. Physical versions, containing download codes in lieu of discs to prevent leaks and reselling, are set to be available in stores on 12 November, allowing pre-loading a week before the game unlocks. Players and journalists criticised content locked behind special editions and the lack of discs, citing ownership restrictions, and some retailers refused to stock the game. Preorders from 25 June initiated the game’s marketing campaign, for which Rockstar partnered with several social media platforms and companies like Netflix, Inc. and PlayStation. Take-Two called preorder sales “unprecedented and astonishing”, with most opting for the Ultimate Edition. An “extended look” at the game is set to premiere on Netflix on 27 August, several hours before its YouTube release; Netflix approached Rockstar with the idea, wanting to pursue popular cultural moments. One day before the “extended look” Rockstar partnered with Dazed to promote the game, showing new screenshots and artwork of Jason and Lucia.
Leaks
2022 leak
A user known as “teapotuberhacker” published 90 videos to the website GTAForums on 18 September 2022 showing 50 minutes of work-in-progress game footage. The hacker downloaded the files from Rockstar’s internal Slack groups and threatened to publish source code, assets, and internal builds of Grand Theft Auto V and VI. Take-Two submitted takedowns of YouTube videos and forum threads showing the footage. Journalists described the event as one of the biggest leaks in video game history, called “a nightmare for Rockstar” by Schreier and “a PR disaster” by Jefferies Group analyst Andrew Uerkwitz. Several developers offered sympathies and shared work-in-progress footage of their games in solidarity. Rockstar lamented the manner in which the game was first demonstrated. The incident cost the company $5 million and thousands of staff hours to recover and prompted increased cybersecurity measures.
A 17-year-old boy from Oxfordshire—identified as “teapotuberhacker” and a key member of the group Lapsus$—was arrested by the City of London Police on 22 September as part of an investigation supported by the National Cyber Crime Unit and American federal law enforcement. While on bail for hacking EE and Nvidia and under police protection at a Travelodge hotel, he breached Rockstar using a mobile phone, television, and Fire TV Stick, and threatened to release the source code in a Slack message to all Rockstar staff. Appearing before a youth court, he pleaded guilty to breaching bail conditions and not guilty to computer misuse. In mid-2023, he stood trial at Southwark Crown Court for twelve offences, including six counts of computer misuse, three of blackmail, and two of fraud. He was deemed unfit to stand trial due to his autism; a jury determined he had committed the acts, and a judge placed him under an indefinite hospital order in December for being a high public risk as he was violent in custody and expressed intent to continue committing cybercrimes. He was moved to a prison in July 2026 to await a retrial in November.
2025–2026 leaks
In January 2025, a Reddit user posted a photograph and two videos of a PlayStation 5 development kit running the game, taken at Rockstar San Diego in mid-2021. After the post was deleted, Polygon‘s Ian Walker wrote that it revealed no new information and called it the “worst leak of all time”. The leaks were referenced in the opening of the second trailer in May, wherein Jason is “just fixing some leaks”. In November, some development footage appeared in a former Rockstar animator’s demo reel.
The in-game map and several minutes of footage were leaked in August 2026 by CyberLeek, who threatened to release more material unless plans are changed regarding special edition–only content and lack of discs. Journalists compared the demands to the Stop Killing Games movement, though some expressed concern that it was a cryptocurrency scam or promotion; CyberLeek burned coins valued at more than US$1 million in response, claiming to raise money for a “secret project” to fight anti-consumerist publishing practices. Some footage suggested CyberLeek had a playable build of the game, with voting via paid tokens determining which clips leaked next; at least fifteen videos were leaked over nine days by 26 August. Take-Two filed subpoena requests with Discord, Microsoft, and X Corp. in the Southern District Court of New York, seeking records to identify CyberLeek. Rockstar publicly acknowledged the leaks on 26 August, calling them “heartbreaking for our team”, and apologised for the delays in development and marketing.
Notes
References
External links
- Official website
