When GTA 6 Is Really Releasing, According To These Leaks

"Grand Theft Auto 5" turns 8 in September 2021, yet Rockstar Games continues to keep players guessing about the title's sequel. In fact, the developer seems to enjoy teasing "GTA 6" fans instead of providing actual information about the followup.

Thanks to an abundance of rumors and leaks, industry analysts have placed the "Grand Theft Auto 6" release date somewhere within the next five years. Fans have their own predictions as well. In fact, 34% of people agreed that "GTA 6" will come out some time in early 2022, which may be wishful thinking at this point.

The ongoing lack of details about "Grand Theft Auto 6" has become a punchline for some, including Mark Roebuck of Hard Drive. On July 8, the satire site ran a story titled "Rockstar Confirms Director of GTA 6 Hasn't Even Been Born Yet," complete with a fabricated quote from Bloomberg's Jason Schreier that placed the long-awaited game's launch date all the way in 2049.

Luckily, fans won't have to wait a couple more decades to experience the next "Grand Theft Auto" entry. Probably. Here's when you can expect to get your hands on "GTA 6" based on some of the more prominent leaks.

Reddit, the source of many of the biggest "GTA" leaks, sparked the rumor mill with an alleged screenshot from Sony detailing the launches of upcoming titles. "Grand Theft Auto 6" featured at the bottom of the photo, complete with an October 28, 2022 release date.

The supposed leak included other titles that had already come out, like "Cyberpunk 2077" and "The Last of Us Part 2." However, according to commenters, several of the dates were significantly off, and designations like "Spider-Man 2" and "Horizon Zero 2" didn't reflect the actual titles of the sequels in question. One Redditor argued that the dates could be wrong due to delays, which have become increasingly common in the video game world due to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

The caption on the original post indicated that the launch for "GTA 6" might also be pushed until 2023 because of delays across the industry. This could easily be the case ... assuming the screenshot proves legitimate.

An alleged leak on 4chan suggested Rockstar aims to release "Grand Theft Auto 6" in October 2023. After 4chan reportedly removed the original AMA with the leaker, one user shared the information on Reddit in a thread that gained gained a massive amount of attention due to the sheer number of details it included. 

Beyond talking about areas of the map, the time period the game will be set in, and minigame plans, the thread even predicted when Rockstar would announce "GTA 6": "as early as spring 2022." Given Rockstar has not shared any official information about the next "Grand Theft Auto" game, it's difficult to confirm or deny the accuracy of the leak. At the time, one user suggested "at least [one] thing will be right" due to the large number of claims the AMA featured.

A Twitter account devoted to "GTA 6" leaks seemingly backed up the 2023 launch window in early July with an alleged screenshot of a tweet from "Known film scooper" @ViewerAnon. The capture shows a retweet from @ViewerAnon in which they claim that Rockstar's internal "Grand Theft Auto 6" release date falls in late 2023.

In a video on his YouTube channel, Tom Henderson, a well-known source for game leaks and theories, delivered the unfortunate news that fans could be looking at a 2024 release date for "Grand Theft Auto 6." Henderson supported this idea by claiming that Rockstar's focusing on other areas within the company, most notably "employee wellbeing". He also brought up the possibility that the game will only release on PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S. Due to console shortages, Rockstar may be holding off on releasing the next "GTA" installment. 

One Twitter user argued that Rockstar has a tendency to wait two years after an announcement to release a game, and they added that a "GTA 6" reveal likely won't happen in 2021 due to the launch of "GTA 5 Expanded and Enhanced." Based on that, they felt "GTA 6" would release in 2024 at the earliest. This does have some truth in it — Rockstar announced "GTA 5" in October 2011 and it released in September 2013.

Henderson warned that "GTA 6" might take even longer to release, possibly arriving as late as 2025. VGC editor Andy Robinson agreed with Henderson's claims on Twitter, pointing out that the "details match what I've heard about [Grand Theft Auto 6]."

Insider and Bloomberg journalist Jason Schreier also agreed in a separate Twitter thread, expanding on Henderson's claims by adding that the game is "still early in development," which could be why a release date in 2025 sounds reasonable. News from Schreier is particularly notable — he's the one who confirmed that a new "Grand Theft Auto" game was in the works at Rockstar back when he still wrote for Kotaku.

This news had the potential to cause "GTA 6" fans to throw a fit. Many people aren't willing to believe that such a late release date is even possible. Some, like @ICECOINYT, argued that the sequel would arrive by 2024 at the latest. Rockstar has a lot of aspects it can't afford to get wrong in "GTA 6," and the more time it takes the game to launch, the more polished it will potentially be. Hopefully, prospective players get news about the followup sooner rather than later.