3 reasons why the latest ‘Grand Theft Auto 6’ gameplay leak is hot garbage
This ain't it, chief.
Rockstar fans have been ravenously hunting for any possible information about Grand Theft Auto 6. The next installment of the open-world adventure game has yet to be confirmed, but it hasn’t stopped alleged leaks, rumors, and speculation from GTA 5 cast members from kicking up a whirlwind of hype.
Most recently, a second-long clip presented as “GTA 6 Alpha gameplay” made the rounds online. The fuzzy footage originated from the now-deleted instagram account gta6_leaks. It seems to be shot in a hurry, and it’s set in what appears to be Miami’s Art Deco District, which lines up with other many other leaks that suggest GTA 6 will once again be set in Vice City (fictional Miami).
Sadly, this alleged leak gameplay has set off Inverse’s BS alarm. As much as we want to believe that this our first glimpse of GTA 6, here are three reasons this recent video is hot garbage.
3. The Instagram account responsible was caught posting fakes
You’ll no doubt be shocked to learn that the gta6_leaks Instagram account is not exactly a trustworthy source of information. Before posting the video above, the account began to spread false GTA 6 screenshots.
Redditor /u/Lenlfc debunked the posts by finding the source video gta6_leaks cropped and overladed texted on to try and pass the image off as a leak. It wasn’t more than an ordinary photo of the “Welcome to Miami Beach” sign.
If gta6_leaks’ alleged screenshots aren’t real, the gameplay footage probably isn’t legit either.
Caught red handed.
2. The footage could come from one of manyGTA 5 mods out there
The fake leak is likely footage of a GTA 5 for PC mod used to make the game unrecognizable.
At a glance, the footage doesn’t seem like anything found in the sprawling city of Los Santos from GTA 5. That might lead some fans to believe that this could be the building blocks of a neighborhood in Vice City, but it’s far more probable that the video is a clip from a customized GTA 5 map.
The Windows version of the 2013 title lets fans import their own assets to play mini game and access items that would otherwise not exist in the game. Players have added Iron Man and dragons to the game and even submerged all of Los Santos underwater.
There are various online communities dedicated to GTA 5 modding with thousands of members. The owner or owners of gta6_leaks could have used someone else’s mod or made their own custom map to make their video unrecognizable.
A 'GTA 5' mod that put Iron Man in the game.
1. It includes the Red Dead Redemption 2 HUD
The video is too short to make out any discernible gameplay details, but the circular health, stamina, and dead-eye rings are clearly visible at the bottom left. They’re right above a square mini-map just like GTA 5 and the dead-eye symbol has been changed to a star.
There are some discrepancies from pervious Rockstar games here, but they seem like Red Dead Redemption 2 assets have been tweaked, copied, and pasted into a GTA 5. While it’s possible that Rockstar could recycle some of Red Dead 2’s HUD for the next GTA, it’s unlikely they’d opt for such an obviously similar arrangement.
GTA has always had a distinct HUD from the Red Dead games. Before GTA 5 Rockstar used circular mini maps, but opted for a square one for the 2013 release.
The health and stamina gauges have also always been bars instead of circles in GTA. It’s possible that Rockstar wants to change it’s long-standing HUD for GTA but to make it almost identical to Red Dead is out of character for a publisher that prides itself in delivering highly polished and stylized titles.
This shouldn’t discourage GTA fans in the long run: it’s almost impossible that Rockstar won’t eventually follow up its most successful franchise of all time especially with next-gen consoles on the horizon. But this leak ain’t it, chief.
