As Rockstar and parent company Take-Two scramble to identify the leaker behind a string of unauthorised GTA 6 gameplay videos, a former Rockstar developer says the fallout will be minimal.
Obbe Vermeij, who spent nearly 14 years at Rockstar North as technical director on every mainline GTA release from GTA 3 through Ballad of Gay Tony, took to social media over the weekend urging people to relax, describing the situation as "a nothing burger."
Vermeij argued that most players simply won't seek out the footage ahead of launch, while any short-term irritation among Rockstar's teams is unlikely to have much impact. He pointed to the game's likely decade-plus commercial lifespan, similar to GTA 5's, as reason enough not to worry.
Vermeij compared the current situation with Rockstar's actual worst-case scenario: the 2005 Hot Coffee scandal. Hidden sexually explicit content discovered in GTA: San Andreas triggered an Adults Only re-rating from the ESRB, forced retailers to briefly pull the game from shelves, and ultimately cost the company an estimated $50 million, followed by a $20 million settlement.
According to Vermeij, that controversy caused real turmoil for Rockstar's New York office at the time, although it barely affected the North studio where he worked. By comparison, he expects the current leaks to leave little lasting damage to the brand.
Even a worst-case outcome, such as Cyberleek leaking major story spoilers or the game's ending, wouldn't change much in Vermeij's view. He believes players will still show up for the game regardless of what has already circulated online. Vermeij also pushed back on speculation that the leaks prove Cyberleek has access to a fully playable build, suggesting any such build would likely only function on a developer kit rather than retail hardware.
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Rockstar's extended look at GTA 6 is set to premiere on Netflix on August 27, with the game still on track for a November 19 launch on PS5 and Xbox Series X/S. Neither Rockstar nor Take-Two has issued a public statement addressing the leaks.
