Grand Theft Auto VI: When is the GTA 6 release date & what to expect as Rockstar Games confirms leak was real

Rockstar Games has confirmed that last week’s leaked footage of the highly anticipated Grand Theft Auto VI was authentic.

Hackers illegally accessed the development stages of the franchise’s upcoming release, sharing footage of a female playable character robbing a restaurant.

“We recently suffered a network intrusion in which an unauthorised third party illegally accessed and downloaded confidential information,” Rockstar confirmed in a statement.

“We are extremely disappointed to have any details of our next game shared with you all in this way.

“Our work on the next Grand Theft Auto game will continue as planned and we remain as committed as ever to delivering an experience to you, our players.

“Of course, we will properly introduce you to this next game when it is ready. We want to thank everyone for their ongoing support through this situation.”

The leak has built further anticipation for millions of GTA fans eager to get their hands on the sixth edition of the game.

They will likely have to wait a while longer, though. Here’s everything we know so far about the GTA 6 release date, and what can be expected from the new game.

When is the Grand Theft Auto 6 release date?

Rockstar has confirmed the development for GTA 6 is well underway - as shown by the leak last week - but there is no official release date as of yet.

Early rumours suggest the new release could come in late 2024 or early 2025, some 11-12 years after GTA V was released.

Confirmation of the release date will be added to this article as and when.

What city will Grand Theft Auto 6 be set in?

Just like for the release date, there has been no official announcement for what city GTA 6 will be set in, but there has been plenty of speculation nonetheless.

Big news from the leak was that it appeared to confirm a return to Vice City, with one fan zooming in on the rear of a police car.

The number plate, which is likely just a placeholder, reads ‘San Andreas’, but the letters VCPD to the right of it are likely to represent ‘Vice City Police Department’.

The leak also showed what appears to be a first proper glimpse at the game’s map, with many suggesting it looks like Miami, Florida.

When the GTA set location is confirmed, it will be added to this article.

What else can we expect from Grand Theft Auto 6?

Rockstar is yet to confirm any of the GTA 6 characters or storyline, but a report from Bloomberg suggests there will be a female protagonist.

This report is now all but confirmed to be true by the footage leak, as a female character appears to raise a pistol to customers in a restaurant.

Another potential new addition is the use of cryptocurrency to reward players for missions instead of the traditional cash handed out.

This is according to Tom Henderson, a well-known video game leaker, who says there could be a return for a stock market feature.

There may also be an improvement to non-playable characters (NPCs), as a patent was filed by Rockstar’s parent company, Take-Two.

The patent suggests NPCs will move and react to environments better, with a particular focus on surrounding vehicles.