Grand Theft Auto Fans Get an Early Look at GTA 6 Gameplay

As the release of Grand Theft Auto 6 draws near, fans are eagerly waiting for an extended look at the next installment in the series. However, it appears that some of the game’s footage has already been leaked online, despite Rockstar Games’ efforts to keep a tight lid on the game’s details. Two legitimate-looking clips and a world map have surfaced, giving fans a glimpse into what the game might have in store for them.

The leaked footage appears to be from the game’s early development stages, with the map showing a distorted, compact version of south Florida. The map features a large city, which is Rockstar’s version of Miami, located on the east of Leonida, with plenty of greenspace in the west and north. The map also includes many large and small islands dotted across it, with a group that resembles the Florida Keys in the south. The screenshot of the map also features various markers, with most being nondescript, but others include a home icon, a balaclava-covered face, cars, and an alligator.

One of the clips shows Jason, one of the game’s dual protagonists, at a waterside home. The scene depicts Jason hopping over the ledge and running by a jetski before picking up a basketball and making a few shots. After scoring with his first attempt, Jason gets a focus stat boost, which suggests that GTA 6 will incorporate RPG mechanics. The clip also shows a focus bar appearing in the top left of the screen when Jason has the basketball in hand.

The building in the clip is identical to one that appears in an official screenshot of GTA 6, which is labeled as Jason’s safehouse on the game’s website. This suggests that the leaked footage might be from an early build of the game, and some of the features or locations might have changed since then.

The second clip has more action, opening with Jason looking like he’s about to drive over a bridge toward an area called The Keys before making a U-turn and causing relatively mild carnage. After colliding with a delivery truck, he and the driver get in a fight, with Jason killing the guy with a wrench. This earns Jason a two-star wanted level, with a devil icon with a minus sign appearing on the right of the screen, as well as on a portrait of Jason that pops up. This indicates that there’s an honor/karma system in the game, similar to the one in the Red Dead Redemption series.

As Jason returns to his vehicle, ‘loadout’ and ‘storage’ prompts briefly appear, suggesting that players will be able to change their weapons and store items in their car. After he gets back in the driver’s seat, an icon pops up with the car’s name and a gas meter, so it looks like players will have to fuel up their vehicles this time. The clip also features a GTA V-esque minimap, which ends just as Jason approaches an air ambulance.

The leaked footage is watermarked with URLs that claim to offer fans more details alongside a ‘fighting for gamers’ rights’ message. The alleged leaker claimed to have released the footage and screenshot to protest Rockstar’s decision to only include a code in the box of the game’s physical edition, rather than a disc. They’re threatening further action against Rockstar and other publishers over purported anti-consumer practices like digital pre-orders, ‘fake single-player DLC,’ and failing to maintain access to single-player games.

Grand Theft Auto 6 will hit PS5 and Xbox Series X/S on November 19. An extended look at the game will stream first on Netflix on August 27.