TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Rockstar Games has broken its silence on the latest Grand Theft Auto VI (GTA 6) leaks, calling the unauthorized release of gameplay footage “heartbreaking” while saying the long-awaited game is now “nearly there.”
In a statement released Wednesday, August 26, Rockstar acknowledged that many fans had been waiting for an update after gameplay footage began circulating online over the past week.
“It would be an understatement to say that having videos of Grand Theft Auto VI gameplay leak in this way has been heartbreaking for our team,” Rockstar said, as quoted by International Business Times UK.
The studio apologized to fans, saying the leaked footage was not how it intended players to first see the game after years of development.
Rockstar also apologized for the length of the development process, from completing the game to releasing additional details and official gameplay footage.
“We are very sorry that everything has taken as long as it has, from getting the game finished (nearly there!) to sharing more details and official gameplay,” the company said.
Rockstar to Release Extended GTA 6 Preview
Rockstar’s statement comes ahead of the planned release of GTA 6: An Extended Look, an official preview scheduled to premiere on Netflix on Thursday, August 27.
The preview will also be released on Rockstar’s official YouTube channel later the same day.
Rockstar said preparing the extended look had taken longer than expected but that the company remained focused on meeting fan expectations.
“It has taken longer than we wanted to get it ready,” Rockstar said, adding that it was determined to deliver the game at the level players expected.
The studio acknowledged that the leaks could affect the intended experience for some players because of potential spoilers.
GTA 6 is currently scheduled to launch on November 19, 2026, for PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S.
Take-Two Seeks Information on Leak Sources
The latest statement follows legal action by Take-Two Interactive, Rockstar’s parent company, to identify people allegedly involved in distributing the leaked material.
On August 20, Take-Two filed requests in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York seeking subpoenas directed at Microsoft and Discord. The company sought identifying information connected to accounts and servers allegedly involved in distributing GTA 6 footage.
Take-Two later expanded its legal efforts with additional requests involving X and Google-owned YouTube.
Court filings said the requests were intended to identify alleged copyright infringers. The documents described the protected material as including audiovisual content, artwork, images, dialogue and other creative elements from the unreleased game.
The legal filings indicate that at least some of the material targeted by Take-Two came from the unreleased game. However, they do not independently authenticate every clip circulating online.
What the Latest Leaks Show
The latest wave of alleged GTA 6 leaks began around August 18 and included footage apparently showing driving, basketball, flying and combat sequences involving protagonist Jason Duval.
Other clips reportedly showed locations and gameplay elements including beaches, nightlife venues, gas stations, strip clubs and a nudist village. However, not all of the footage circulating online has been independently verified.
Some fans have focused on the apparent scale of the game’s environments and the number of non-playable characters shown in the footage. Others have noted that the videos appear to come from a development build and may not represent the final version of the game.
The incident is not the first major GTA 6 leak. In 2022, dozens of videos from an early development build were leaked online, showing footage involving protagonists Jason and Lucia.
The 2022 breach led to the arrest of hacker Arion Kurtaj, who was later given an indefinite hospital order in the UK.
Rockstar subsequently increased security measures around development of the game. The latest leak comes as the studio approaches the release of one of the most anticipated video games in the industry.
