GTA 6 Copies for Media Outlets Are Not Watermarked After All

As the release date for GTA 6 approaches, gaming journalists have already received their copies of 2026's most anticipated game—this news broke earlier this week. What’s more, according to an insider report, Rockstar took steps to prevent any leaks by adding special watermarks. However, it seems that’s not quite the case.

According to user ManaByte, the developers sent journalists copies of GTA 6 that contain a special watermark appearing in several locations at once. This way, in case of a leak, Rockstar would be the first to know who is behind the latest game disclosure. However, more credible insiders, Tom Henderson and NateTheHate, have refuted this claim. As Henderson noted, the studio has indeed stepped up measures to prevent leaks of GTA 6, but without any watermarks. NateTheHate also wrote on his page the game copies provided to journalists do not contain any special watermarks.

To my knowledge, this is not accurate.

Review copies of Grand Theft Auto 6 are not watermarked.

Given that GTA 6 was the subject of a massive gameplay leak this year, Rockstar is naturally concerned about preventing a repeat of that incident. However, gaming journalists are unlikely to risk their reputations by publishing any spoilers for the game. Meanwhile, it’s been reported that one of the people who received a copy of GTA 6 is a YouTuber named Shirrako. He specializes in game walkthroughs and is particularly famous for revealing the ending of Red Dead Redemption 2 on its launch day in 2018. Fans are worried he’ll do the same with GTA 6 next month.

In other news, the latest issue of Edge magazine revealed a wealth of new details about GTA 6, and a new episode of South Park even featured a gameplay clip. Furthermore, according to Bank of America, the multiplayer for GTA 6 will be released in the first half of next year and may launch simultaneously with the game's PC version.

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