GTA 6 dev bemoans trailer leak: ‘This f***ing sucks’

A Grand Theft Auto 6 developer has expressed their disappointment over the game’s trailer leak, and subsequent early publication, on Monday.

Rockstar was due to premiere its GTA 6 trailer on Tuesday. However, on Monday an anonymous X (formerly Twitter) account forced its hand by uploading a low-res and heavily watermarked version of the reveal video early.

Shortly after the leak, Rockstar published an official version of the trailer, writing: “Our trailer has leaked so please watch the real thing on YouTube.”

Senior gameplay animator Javier Altman wrote on X (formerly Twitter) that the early publication of the much-anticipated reveal video had robbed them of plans to watch the live reaction with the rest of the development team.

“This fucking sucks,” they wrote. “I was hoping to watch this for the first time tomorrow along with my fellow teammates and coworkers. I feel we deserved that moment.”

Altman added: “I’m so proud of what we are making. Enjoy the trailer, everyone.”

An hour after the GTA 6 trailer was officially published by Rockstar, the animator added: “Literally crying tears of joy right now at the response everyone is having. I can’t believe I get to be a part of this.”

Another GTA 6 developer, associate principal animator, Amy Hartley, also commented on X: “Little bit earlier than expected, but here it is folks! So proud of everyone working on this game, it’s going to be amazing”.

As revealed via a high-profile game leak last year, the GTA 6 trailer confirms the new instalment will take place in Vice City – a fictional Miami – and star a pair of protagonists (one of whom, in a first for the series, is a women).

Rockstar confirmed in February 2022 that active development for the next entry in the Grand Theft Auto series was “well underway”, but it didn’t provide any more details about the game.

However, in September 2022, one of the games industry’s most high-profile data leaks saw over an hour of GTA 6 development footage published online , giving players their first look at the sequel to one of the best-selling games of all time.