Leak forces Grand Theft Auto studio to drop new game trailer early

A new game trailer leak has forced the studio behind the hit video game franchise to show their hand.

The studio behind the long-running Grand Theft Auto (GTA) video game franchise has been forced to drop the trailer for the highly-anticipated next instalment in the series due to a leak.

The leak occurred hours before the scheduled release of the first trailer for Grand Theft Auto VI which had been due to debut early Wednesday morning for most of Australia.

It prompted Rockstar Games to jump the gun and upload the legitimate trailer to their YouTube channel.

The trailer for the latest instalment in the GTA video game series was released early following a leak. Picture: Agustin Paullier / Rockstar Games / AFP

An X account ‘@Gta6trailerleak,’ seemingly created purely of the purposes of leaking the trailer, released the GTA VI trailer mid-morning Tuesday.

Although the trailer itself was legitimate, the footage was obscured by a large opaque watermark reading “BUY BTC,” i.e. “buy bitcoin.”

Two hours later, the account was suspended, and Rockstar’s official X account responded.

Our trailer has leaked so please watch the real thing on YouTube: https://t.co/T0QOBDHwBe

— Rockstar Games (@RockstarGames) December 4, 2023

“Our trailer has leaked so please watch the real thing on YouTube,” they posted, along with a YouTube link to the actual trailer.

Comments underneath the post were largely positive, praising Rockstar for dropping the trailer ahead of time.

“Happy trailer launch to everyone except the leakers,” wrote the official account for streaming peripheral company Elgato.

“The leaker will NOT be respawning in the hospital,” said the account for Opera GX, an internet browser with features aimed at gamers.

Theirs was among a number of comments suggests the repercussions will be hefty for whomever was behind the leak.

The trailer confirms long-suspected rumours that GTA VI would be set in the fictional Florida city of Vice City, which has been featured in two previous series instalments.

It appears to show a male and, in a series first, a female protagonist and their involvement in the criminal underworld of a modern Vice City — another series first, with previous games set in Vice City taking place in the 1980s.

The trailer appears to suggest there will be two playable protagonists, one of whom will be a woman for the first time in the series’ history. Picture: Agustin Paullier / Rockstar Games / AFP

The trailer closes with “coming 2025,” meaning fans can expect more trailers and information in 2024.

It’s also since been confirmed there will only be current-gen PS5 and Xbox Series X|S releases at launch, with a PC release to presumably come later.

It means players still using last-gen PS4 or Xbox One console will need to upgrade before the 2025 release.

Fans of the immensely popular GTA series have been waiting more than 10 years for a fresh instalment since the release of GTA V in September 2013.

The release smashed industry records, quickly becoming the fastest-selling entertainment product of all time, earning USD$800m in its first day of sales, and USD$1bn within three days of release.

Despite the name, GTA VI will actually be the 16th game in the series, which began with the original Grand Theft Auto released in 1997 on computer and PlayStation console.

The games generally revolve around a protagonist (or three, in the case of GTA V) and their involvement in criminal activity in a fictional United States city.

GTA VI will return to Vice City, a fictional locale in Florida, heavily based on the real-world city of Miami. Picture: Agustin Paullier / Rockstar Games / AFP

The third-person action shooter heavily parodies US society and culture, and as the title suggests, allows players to acquire and drive various vehicles by stealing them.

Although the series has often copped criticism for its depictions of narcotics and drug use, there is often a strong anti-drug message in the games’ narrative.

Entries in the series have also courted controversy in the past, usually due to their excessive portrayal of sex and violence.

GTA: San Andreas, released in 2004, received media coverage after it was discovered some players had modified game files to show characters engaging in sexual activity, uncensored.

GTA V was also targeted by sex worker advocacy groups because of the ability for players to engage the services of in-game sex workers (which restores player health) and being able to recover money spent by killing said sex worker.

GTA V and remastered versions of GTA III, GTA: Vice City, and GTA: San Andreas have all been rated R18+ in Australia.