Overview

GTA 6 Leaks or 2022 Grand Theft Auto VI Leak refers to the unauthorized release of 90 video clips of the still-in-development GTA VI video game via the GTAForums site in mid-September 2022. The leaked footage, purportedly depicting gameplay, plot lines and graphics from the new Rockstar game, rapidly spread around the internet, inspiring memes and discussions on social media in the following days.

Background

The leak occurred when GTAForums user teapotuberhacker posted the leaked videos just before 9:30 p.m. Eastern Standard Time on September 17th, 2022.^[1] It is unconfirmed how the hack happened or whether anybody within Rockstar is involved. Early speculation noted that it seems as if the footage comes from an internal Slack channel and is marked with debugging tools and other internal developer functionalities. Commentators in general seem to think the footage is legitimate because of the amount and detail of what is shown.^[2] Bloomberg reporter Jason Schreier also claimed to have confirmed the veracity of the footage with sources at Rockstar.^[3]

As of the morning of September 19th, the original thread where the leaks were posted on GTAForums no longer has any videos or images, but they are circulating in other ways online. The hacker purportedly responsible, teapotuberhacker, posted that they have more information on GTA 6 builds that they might release, and attempted to enter negotiations with Rockstar games over Telegram. ^[8]

However, around noon EST on September 18th, 2022, Redditor Tamos40000 uploaded a complete and categorized list of the various GTA 6 leaks with links to the videos to the /r/GTA^[9] subreddit, where it received over 1,500 upvotes and 230 comments in 22 hours. As of September 19th, the Streamable links are still active in this thread.

Online Reactions

Online reaction to the September 18th, 2022, leaks varied from initial skepticism on GTAForums to enthusiasm. Many rejoiced at finally seeing footage from the long-awaited game. For example, Twitter user @Ashton_DNKTC speculated that others (like Rockstar Games) might not be as happy, receiving over 67,500 likes in a few hours (seen below) on September 18th.^[4]

Opinion on the graphics of the game seemed to be split, with some impressed and others unimpressed. Many posters stressed that the game was unfinished, however, so it was too early to judge its quality.

Many memers also joked about the person at Rockstar Games who they assumed leaked the footage. Some, such as Twitter user @flozek, who received over 13,500 likes in a few hours on September 18th (seen below, left), joked in praise of the leaker.^[5] Others like Twitter user @iiiux7, who received almost 3,000 likes in a few hours on the 18th (seen below, right), shared fears for the leaker. It is unconfirmed, however, whether anybody inside Rockstar participated in the leak.^[6]

The leak was also refracted through perennial meme trends that are usually applied whenever a new event arrives. For example, on September 18th, 2022, Twitter user @gearshot_ posted a meme attributing responsibility for the leak to Sam Hyde from the He Can't Keep Getting Away With It meme that earned over 1,100 likes in nine hours (shown below).^[7]

External References