A female lead, familiar cities and an abandoned setting circulated in late March 2022. Rockstar confirmed nothing, and what followed settled it.
Photo: Rockstar Games
Sources racinggames.gg · in.ign.com · screenrant.com
A heroine, several cities, and even a North Carolina dropped along the way: the last week of March 2022 brought back three GTA 6 rumours, picked up by racinggames.gg, IGN India and ScreenRant. None comes from Rockstar, and two of them rest on a single tweet.
The oldest of the three stories is also the most recycled. The racinggames.gg piece was first published in January 2021 and updated on 22 March 2022: it recalls that Tom Henderson, presented as a trusted industry expert, said GTA 6 would have a female protagonist. The site adds the rumour of a split between Florida and Mexico, with Vice City central to the Florida part, and itself warns that everything should be taken with caution.
For IGN India, leaks point to cities already seen in the series and returning characters, with a Rockstar "reveal" possible by the end of 2022. The only named element is an interview with Shawn Fonteno, the voice of Franklin in GTA V, who shares his hopes without revealing anything. In other words, it is wishing, not information.
ScreenRant, citing Dexerto, reports that leaker Matheusvictorbr tweeted that one of the first location ideas for GTA 6 was North Carolina, a setting never seen in the series. He gave no context or proof, and the outlet says so itself. The same article assumes Vice City will be at least partly present, that South America has been discussed, and that the next official sign will not come before the end of the year.
The first trailer in December 2023 settled it: Lucia is one of the two protagonists, alongside Jason, and the game is set in the fictional state of Leonida, inspired by Florida, with Vice City. Neither North Carolina nor Mexico was shown. 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. Everything is on the release page.
The heroine, announced by a rumour in 2021, turned out to be right, while North Carolina and trips between countries never came true. Keeping that difference in mind helps read rumours: a simple detail repeated by several sources weighs more than a world map drawn from one tweet.
Sources racinggames.gg · in.ign.com · screenrant.com
By Lara Rivolet · VI Countdown newsroom, OKALAM Studio