Rockstar Games has spent years developing Grand Theft Auto 6, with its return to Vice City bringing new characters, a sprawling open world, and countless details that players have been eager to see. However, not every part of that process was meant for public consumption. Back in 2022, before Rockstar officially revealed GTA 6, unfinished gameplay footage leaked online and gave fans an unexpected look at early versions of environments, animations, and mechanics that were still being refined.
In 2022, a hacker gained access to Rockstar Games’ Slack channels through a phishing attack and published tons of still-in-development GTA 6 gameplay. It wasn’t ready to be shown, and that led to legal troubles for the alleged GTA 6 hacker, tons of discourse online as folks hated on the gameplay, and many other issues. Unfortunately, that wasn’t even the last leak. More recently, an individual or group has published small snippets of gameplay from more recent builds (including a recent leak of Lucia’s customization in GTA 6), although that appears to be slowing down.
GTA 6 Leaks Are “Dirty Washing,” Says Dev
For Rockstar art director Aaron Garbut, as revealed in Bloomberg’s recent expose on the game’s development, the 2022 Grand Theft Auto 6 leak was about more than having unfinished footage circulate online. Reflecting on the incident, Garbut described the experience as feeling like somebody was “wading through your dirty washing.” He explained that seeing the work was like having someone inside your head, exposing material that nobody outside the development team was ever supposed to see. Garbut ultimately called the experience “really weirdly invasive,” highlighting the personal toll of having years of creative work exposed without warning. In his own words,
“It feels like somebody’s wading through your dirty washing. It’s like they’re inside your head. You see your early work out there. Nobody’s ever supposed to see that. It’s really weirdly invasive, and so it’s quite hard to deal with on an emotional level.”
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The reaction helps explain why the leak was so difficult for Rockstar to manage. Players were suddenly judging GTA 6 through development footage that was never intended to represent the final game, with some criticizing its unfinished animations, visuals, and overall presentation. Of course, none of that mattered when Grand Theft Auto 6‘s first trailer was released, but it colored the weeks and months leading up to that event badly.
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Image via Rockstar Games -
Image via Rockstar Games -
Rockstar Games
The 2022 Grand Theft Auto 6 leak remains a reminder that major game reveals involve more than building anticipation. Developers spend years refining an experience, and a sudden breach can strip away the context that makes early work understandable. Garbut’s comments offer a rare glimpse into the human side of that situation and certainly speak for several other developers at Rockstar as well.
Now, GTA 6‘s release date is just a month away. Most folks have forgotten about the 2022 leaks, and the more recent ones will end one way or another. Rockstar put a definitive end to 2022’s discourse and will prove it come November 2026, but the problem remains that September 2022 was not November 2026.
- Released
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November 19, 2026
- ESRB
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Rating Pending – Likely Mature 17+