Rockstar Games Will Change the Approach to Grand Theft Auto VI Testing

There are about six months left until the release of 2026's most anticipated game, Grand Theft Auto VI. While fans await news on pre-orders—which stirred excitement among players this week—details have emerged regarding how Rockstar Games plans to conduct testing, and it won't be exactly what everyone is expecting.

Further details have emerged from Brazilian journalist PH Lutti Lippe, a contributor to prominent outlets such as Omelete and UOL. During a recent appearance on the X do Controle podcast, he revealed that Rockstar Games intends to fundamentally overhaul its GTA 6 preview strategy. Moving away from the traditional distribution of game keys, representatives from major gaming publications will be invited to a secure, closed-location environment to conduct their hands-on previews. According to Lippe, the developer implemented this measure to mitigate the risk of information leaks, which were a greater concern under the previous model of allowing media to access preview builds remotely. More details from the Brazilian journalist, as translated by PortalViciados, you can check out below:

“Nobody is going to get the key to this game. It looks like there’s going to be some kind of review event. They’re going to send the journalists. They’re going to have the journalists travel. Stay for days… so there are no leaks. So, there’s no risk of leaks, man! Like, everyone’s going to play this indoors.”

For now, this information is unconfirmed and should be treated with skepticism. Nevertheless, PH Lutti Lippe is also confident that even if Rockstar Games decides to conduct such a game test, someone will inevitably find a way to record the content and leak it online. Whether they would choose to do so is another matter, especially after Take-Two Interactive recently threatened a fan with a lawsuit for distributing AI-generated fake GTA 6 images.

The fans are hopeful that next week will be crucial for Grand Theft Auto VI, as a Best Buy leak suggests pre-orders of the game will start in a period from May 18 to 21. Plus, Take-Two’s new earnings call is confirmed to take place next Thursday (May 21), which coincides with the possible pre-order opening date and cannot be a coincidence.

For now, you can also find out everything we know about GTA 6 so far - the story, gameplay, map, open world, platforms, and more.

Grand Theft Auto VI will release on November 19 for PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S.