Someone Leaked New GTA VI Footage to Promote a Cryptocurrency

Short clips of what appears to be Grand Theft Auto VI gameplay showed up online on August 19, ahead of Rockstar Games' planned preview on Netflix and the game's November launch. The Verge reported seeing three leaked clips, two of which had already been removed from the site where they appeared "due to a copyright claim."

The first removed clip showed the game's main character, Jason Duval, shooting a basketball into a hoop. The second showed crime-focused gameplay: Jason Duval hitting a person with a wrench, and the return of a six-star Wanted system, a feature that tracks how much trouble the player is in with police. A third clip, still live as of The Verge's report, showed Duval driving at night, punching people, using a taser, stealing a truck, and then cutting to a daytime scene from a different part of the game. A separate leaked clip reported by The Drive on August 18 showed chaotic gameplay involving a vehicle described as a "knockoff Ranchero."

All three clips described by The Verge were watermarked by a person or group calling themselves "CyberLeek." The third clip included a call to buy a CyberLeek cryptocurrency, with a QR code, links to CyberLeek websites, and the statement "NO PHYSICAL DISCS? THEN MORE LEEKS!" — a reference to Rockstar's decision not to release GTA VI on a physical disc.

Rockstar Games and parent company Take-Two did not immediately reply to a request for comment about the leaked clips.

This is not the first time unreleased GTA VI material has surfaced prematurely. In 2022, 90 videos of apparent GTA VI footage leaked online well before the game's official reveal. A teenager who played a key role in that leak was later sentenced to life in a secure hospital. More recently, Rockstar confirmed in April 2026 that "a limited amount of non-material company information" was accessed in a third-party data breach, and that hackers issued an ultimatum to pay or leak, according to IGN. Rockstar had earlier confirmed that data was compromised in a hack of a third-party provider but said the incident would have no impact on its organization or players. In November 2025, GamingBible reported that Rockstar revealed several GTA VI developers were fired for allegedly leaking information.

The official GTA VI "extended look" is scheduled to premiere on Netflix on August 27 at 3PM ET, with a YouTube stream following at 9PM ET. Grand Theft Auto VI, priced at $79.99, is set to launch on November 19. The broader game industry has largely been steering clear of November, launching major titles earlier in the year to avoid direct competition with the GTA VI release.

The CyberLeek angle sets this leak apart from prior incidents. The 2022 breach was attributed to a hacker motivated by access and notoriety within the game-leaking community. This leak, by contrast, is explicitly tied to a cryptocurrency promotion and a complaint about the absence of physical media. The watermarked branding, QR code, and website links point to an operation designed to turn attention into investment in the cryptocurrency rather than simply to show off unfinished game footage.

What makes this situation unusual is that a major game leak has been combined with a cryptocurrency promotion. That creates a problem for websites and platforms trying to decide whether to share the clips. The leaked material is both stolen preview content and an advertisement for a cryptocurrency that is not registered or regulated. Copyright takedown notices can remove the videos, but they cannot do anything about the promotional content already built into the clips.

The timing also puts pressure on Rockstar's August 27 Netflix preview. The official showcase was presumably designed to control the narrative around first gameplay impressions. Leaked footage, even when rough or incomplete, tends to shape audience expectations in ways that polished marketing presentations have to work around rather than build upon. The fact that two of three clips were already hit with copyright claims suggests Rockstar is actively pursuing removal, but the third remained accessible at time of reporting.

The "NO PHYSICAL DISCS? THEN MORE LEEKS!" message touches a real frustration for some gamers. The shift away from physical media has been a slow, industry-wide trend, but Rockstar's decision to skip discs for one of the most anticipated entertainment releases of the decade makes that shift very visible. CyberLeek's framing tries to use that consumer frustration as both a reason for the leak and a marketing tool for the cryptocurrency.

For Rockstar and Take-Two, the path from here is familiar even if the details are new. The company has dealt with a major leak before, pursued legal remedies, and continued with its planned marketing schedule. Whether the August 27 showcase goes ahead as planned or changes in response to the leaked footage will signal how much control the publisher believes it still has over its own reveal timeline.