Leaks are common in the gaming industry, and Rockstar is not immune to them. In recent days, it has experienced a major leak that potentially shows an early build ofGrand Theft Auto 6, along with key information such as the playable characters and much ofVice City, which is allegedly the upcoming game’s setting. This is not the first time the company has suffered leaks, and it has a long history of leaks with both theRed Deadseries and theGTAseries.TheGrand Theft Auto 6leak comes despite Rockstar’s concerted efforts to maintain secrecy. It appears that the alleged leaker still has more information to release, including source code for bothGTA 5and6, which could cause havoc for the company. While fans may enjoy getting an early peek at the upcoming game, it could result in an even longer wait before it is finally released.RELATED:Recent Rockstar Developments Suggest GTA 6 Plans Could Be Massive
Rockstar Games' Commitment to Secrecy
Rockstar is one of gaming’s biggest companies, and it earned its reputation through decades of delivering industry-defining titles. Despite developing some of the most highly anticipated titles in gaming, Rockstar has generally been quite good at preventing too much of its work from prematurely escaping into the wild. This is noteworthy when one considers that the company has studios around the world, and the thousands of employees spread across them often collaborate on larger projects such asRed Dead RedemptionandGTA 5.
To do this, the company has gone to great lengths, sometimes even inconveniencing its employees. It has been reported that employees are not allowed to keep cell phones at their desks, and they have to be locked up during the day. However, it has also been reported that this rule has been revoked following the company’s push to drastically change its internal work culture. The company has also benefited from havingTake-Two Interactive’s powerand influence to help it, and the gaming giant Take-Two has gone so far as to hire private investigators to preventBorderlands 3leaks.
Despite how hard Rockstar tries to prevent them, leaks still occur. Usually, it is difficult to initially determine which leaks are real and which are fake, as the company’s popular games tend to attract tons of rumors. Nevertheless, some leaks have been proven to be true, including a particularly notable one that affectedRed Dead Redemption 2before its launch. In 2016, two years beforeRDR2’s release, the game’s map was released, and it is shockingly similar to the final map that gamers received.
Minor facts vary, such asSaint Denisbeing named New Bordeaux, though the map remains fairly accurate. The leak was a big one because the large bodies of water let gamers know that water traversal via swimming and boats would be likely. It also revealed the various environments that gamers would explore, including snow-capped mountains and waterlogged swamps.
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Closer to the game’s release, it experienced yet another leak, and this time it featured an even more detailed map. This leak was a bit harder for Rockstar to prevent, as it came from pictures the leaker took of the game’s official German guidebook. Through this leak, it was all but confirmed thatRed Dead Redemption’s map would be making a return, which was meant to be one of the game’s big reveals. There have been plenty of rumors claiming to reveal information aboutRed Dead Redemption 3or an upcomingRed Dead Redemptionremake. However, none of them have been confirmed by Rockstar.
The Many Grand Theft Auto Leaks
Grand Theft Autois no stranger to leaks, which is not surprising, as the franchise continually has the attention of the gaming world. This was the case withGrand Theft Auto 4, which had its official map leaked a few weeks before the game’s release in 2008. Although fans already knew that the game was visiting Liberty City, the leak gave them a better idea of what to expect. For the most part, Rockstar managed to avoid too manyleaks forGrand Theft Auto 5, and while some leakers did make claims about the game that turned out to be true, many of them could have been lucky guesses.
It appears thatGrand Theft Auto 6will not be spared from significant leaks. For years there have been rumors swirling about what could be the most highly anticipated title in gaming, but in recent months the claims have been coming from more trustworthy sources.GTAfans will be familiar with the leaks from industry insider Jason Schreier who claimed that the upcoming game will be set in a fictionalized version of Miami and that the game will feature a couple that takes inspiration fromBonnie and Clyde.
Schreier’s claims have not been officially confirmed, but they were given much more weight with recent leaks that are purported of an early build ofGTA 6. As reported, the protagonist is a Latina female, although there is also a playable male protagonist named Jason. The expansive leak features numerous videos, including one that shows Jason and Lucia robbing a diner. Schreier has claimed that the leak is real and that it may be one of the biggest in gaming history. It appears that Rockstar’s woes are far from over, as the leaker could potentially havesource code forGTA 6and5.
It remains to be seen how the company will respond to the latest security breach, and whether it will result inGTA 6’s delay. According to Schreier, it could cause management to rethink their work-from-home policies. While it will take a while forRockstar to gain control of theGTAleak, it may be a good idea for it to do an official reveal of the upcoming game soon while it still has the opportunity to do it on its own terms.
Grand Theft Auto 6is currently in development.
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