The creation of the next installment in the Grand Theft Auto franchise has not had the plainest of sailings. The game has been in development for around a decade now, moving from planning to full production in 2020. Needless to say, fans have complained about the delay, but there are signs that their wait will soon be over.
Firstly, there have been numerous leaks of gameplay. The footage, which has circulated on social media, shows full gameplay, not just cut scenes. This has led some to speculate that whoever released the footage has access to an actual working build of the game.
Rockstar, the game's creator, has not commented on the leak. But CyberLeek has stepped forward to take credit. The group of hackers has requested that people donate cryptocurrency so that they can continue to "take action" and leak more footage. Legal charges facing hackers could include copyright infringement, data theft, hacking, and extortion.
It appears CyberLeek has released the footage as a form of protest against the digitalization of video games. One issue it raised in relation to GTA 6 is the lack of a physical disc for the game. The group's manifesto also criticizes single-player downloadable content and the removal of video games previously purchased.
“They kill games and keep the money”
The manifesto reads: "Publishers sell licenses and call them purchases... They ship unfinished games and call them living services... They lock content on discs and call it DLC. They kill games and keep the money."
Leaks may not be a problem for much longer though given that Rockstar and parent company Take-Two have announced an Extended Look of GTA 6 due to go live on Netflix on August 27. This suggests a full release date could well be around the corner.
The markets agree. Prediction market Kalshi offers a market on a GTA 6 release before the end of the year, priced at around 87% at the time of writing. The price hit a low of 61% in November 2025 after delay announcements but has grown gradually over the course of 2026, albeit with some blips along the way.