GTA 6 has one of the most drawn-out leak sagas in gaming history. In the four years since the official announcement, the game has made headlines with everything from hacked development footage to fake crypto scams. Here’s a chronological summary of how it all unfolded.

2022: The Year It All Began

On February 4, 2022, Rockstar Games officially confirmed that GTA 6 was in active development, ending years of speculation. But the real shock came a few months later. On September 18, 2022, a user named "teapotuberhacker" posted download links for over 90 development clips on GTAForums. The attacker leaked these clips via a hacked Rockstar Slack account. It was later revealed that the person behind the attack was a teenager named Arion Kurtaj, who pulled off the breach from a hotel room using just a TV, Fire Stick, and smartphone. Rockstar stated that the leaked footage was from an early development stage and did not reflect the final product. Still, the environments, character details, and core scene setups closely matched what would later appear in official trailers.

2023: Trailer 1 Leaks Twice

In October 2023, a Reddit user posted a detailed breakdown of the game’s features on GTAForums, accurately revealing the names Jason and Lucia before any official character reveal. The post also pinpointed the Leonida region and several specific locations. In December 2023, the official trailer itself was leaked. About 16 hours before its planned premiere, a low-quality copy with "BUY $BTC" written over it appeared online. Rockstar responded by moving up the reveal, releasing Trailer 1 at 6 PM EST the same day. The trailer introduced Lucia, neon-lit Vice City, the state of Leonida, and the initial 2025 release window.

2024: Delay Rumors Intensify

In March 2024, Kotaku reported that GTA 6’s development could be delayed, possibly pushing the release to 2026. This served as an early warning before any official delay was announced, and subsequent developments confirmed these concerns. In May 2024, content creator LegacyKillaDX shared new claims about the actors for Lucia and Jason.

2025: Domain Leaks and the First Official Delay

2025 saw a shift in the type of leaks, with digital breadcrumbs replacing footage leaks. On May 27, 2025, a longtime data miner found eight domains registered on Take-Two Interactive’s servers that appeared to be for in-game websites. These domains were removed within a day of being shared. In September 2025, a character animator’s Vimeo showreel uploaded in June went unnoticed for three months before the community discovered it. The first 20 seconds of the video featured three animation tests set to Trailer 1’s music.

Meanwhile, there was movement on the official front. On May 2, 2025, Rockstar delayed the game from Fall 2025 to May 26, 2026, marking the first official postponement.

2026: Second Delay and Final Leaks

On November 6, 2025, Rockstar announced a second delay, moving the date from May 26, 2026, to November 19, 2026. In March 2026, a Reddit post shared a photo showing GTA 6 running on a monitor inside a Rockstar office, with metadata pointing directly to Rockstar San Diego. In April 2026, a group called ShinyHunters carried out a limited breach via a third-party cloud provider. Rockstar confirmed that only "non-sensitive company information" was accessed, and no GTA 6 content was leaked.

On June 25, 2026, pre-orders opened on PlayStation Store, Microsoft Store, and select retailers. The latest development came on August 18, 2026, when an account named "Cyberleek" began posting fake gameplay clips and images that claimed to show the full Leonida map, just days before Rockstar’s official Extended Look showcase.

Summary of the Leak Timeline

Frequently Asked Questions

What was the biggest GTA 6 leak?

The September 2022 hack is widely considered the largest and most impactful leak, revealing over 90 development clips.

Was everything in the 2022 leak accurate?

No. The leaked footage was from an early development stage, and some mechanics (like certain weapon wheel layouts) were changed or removed later. However, the environments, character details, and core scene setups turned out to be largely accurate.

When is GTA 6 coming out?

After two delays, the game is currently targeting a release date of November 19, 2026.