GTA 6 gameplay footage and map appear to leak online, as group seemingly responsible makes demands of Rockstar
What appears to be legitimate gameplay footage of Grand Theft Auto 6 has leaked onto the internet, alongside an alleged image of the game's entire map.
One of the two videos shows co-protagonist Jason driving around in a truck and getting out to attack a civilian by the side of the road. In the other video, Jason is at a Safe House leaning on a balcony railing, then he plays basketball. Small details such as a six-star Wanted gauge, a stamina gauge, and the general fidelity of the footage seems to have convinced most people it's real. But it's unclear whether it's from a recent build of the game or an old one.
The leaked GTA 6 map, meanwhile, shows the game's playable world of Leonida - real-world equivalent: Florida - broken into five explorable counties. By far the most dense and detailed of these is Vice Dale County, where Vice City is located (real-world equivalent: Miami).
The group taking responsibility for the leaks, CyberLeek, claimed it took this action in the name of "Gamers' Rights" - in relation to the controversial discontinuation of game-discs and the digital-future we now face. Grand Theft Auto 6's physical edition comes with a code in a box .
CyberLeek's website no longer appears to be available but IGN reported that it made three demands of Rockstar and other publishers on it, around the digital-future of games. It was also to do with "fake" single-player DLC in GTA 6, which I assume relates to the exclusive extras in the Ultimate Edition . These include in-game shops, clothes and cars that you otherwise can't get.
CyberLeek's manifesto reportedly concluded: "Publishers should beware. If CyberLeek can reach Rockstar, no one is safe. This is a message to all big corpo: behave, or be the next target." But there is a whiff of this being a potential scam. A QR code overlaid on the footage points to a cryptocurrency donation destination, which has had onlookers question the leaker's real motives.
Neither Rockstar nor owner Take-Two has responded to the leaks - Eurogamer has asked Rockstar for comment - but many instances of the video, uploaded or shared, have been removed, suggesting plenty of action on their part.
If real, the leaks come days before GTA 6's big Netflix reveal . The Grand Theft Auto 6: An Extended Look trailer premieres next Thursday, 27th, at 8pm BST. You can catch up with everything we know about GTA 6 elsewhere on the site.