A leak dismissed for years is re-read after Rockstar's confirmation. Two of its points came true, but both were predictable.
Image: Rockstar Games / YouTube
Sources gtaboom.com
Since the 4 February confirmation, the community has been digging through its archives. According to GTA BOOM, an old leak posted on 4chan, long filed under fantasy, was being re-examined on 18 February 2022. The site writes that several of its elements came true. I went through them, and the conclusion fits in a few words: the effect is real, the proof is not.
GTA BOOM cites two points. The leak mentioned a remastered version of the 3D-era GTAs before GTA 6, which matches the Definitive Edition. It also said the game would be revealed in 2022, which the site says checks out. Add mentions of impressive weather and destruction effects, and Rockstar job ads whose theme reportedly fits.
Another reason for the excitement, per GTA BOOM: the post reportedly vanished from 4chan, which some fans read as proof of censorship by Take-Two. The site reminds us that the internet never really deletes anything, and that a disappearance proves neither truth nor falsehood. The serious sources of the moment, like Jason Schreier or Tom Henderson, are a different category: they put their names on their information.
The same text claims the game would be set in the 1980s, in Vice City, with flashback sequences around the protagonist. What Rockstar has shown since takes place in our time, in the state of Leonida. As for the two verified "predictions", they carry little risk: a remastered trilogy was in the pipeline, and an official confirmation in 2022 was the likeliest outcome for a game awaited since 2013. With an anonymous post, you remember the hits and forget the misses.
The real leak came in September 2022, with 90 development videos, before the first trailer in December 2023 confirmed Vice City, Lucia and Jason. The game is out on 19 November 2026 on PS5 and Xbox Series X|S, preload on 12 November, PEGI 18, €79.99 standard and €99.99 Ultimate. The Goodtime State collector costs €399.99 without the game, GTA VI: The Album is out the same day, and no PC version has been announced. The details of the leaks are in our journal.
This episode changes nothing about the game. It does show how an official confirmation rewrites the past of a rumour: what was noise yesterday becomes prophecy today. To judge a leak, the method stays the same: check the source, look for unverifiable details, and count what turned out false too.
Sources gtaboom.com
By Daniel Jasner · VI Countdown newsroom, OKALAM Studio