Former Rockstar director calls GTA 6 leaks 'nothing burger'

Former Rockstar Games technical director Obbe Vermeij has described recent Grand Theft Auto 6 leaks as a “nothing burger”, urging fans not to overreact to footage, maps and other material circulating online.

The comments came after an individual or group known as CyberLeek leaked alleged GTA 6 gameplay clips, including videos and maps, ahead of an extended look at the game coming to Netflix this week.

Take-Two Interactive Software, the parent company of Rockstar Games, subsequently subpoenaed Microsoft, Discord and GitHub over “stolen content”.

The legal action confirmed that at least some of the material shared by CyberLeek is legitimate.

Vermeij, who previously worked as technical director at Rockstar North in Edinburgh, addressed the leaks on X. “Calm down everybody,” he wrote. “The leaks are a nothing burger.”

He suggested that Rockstar’s approach to marketing GTA 6 involves keeping the game under wraps for longer than other publishers, meaning the leaked footage represents material that escaped ahead of its intended release.

“90 [percent] of future players don't spend their time on the internet looking for video snippets. They don't have the time and don't want spoilers,” Vermeij wrote. “I imagine the teams are a little annoyed about it but not more than that.”

Vermeij also compared the situation with the 2004 Hot Coffee controversy surrounding Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas.

He said he was working at Rockstar during the controversy, describing it as a “nightmare” for the company's New York office, while noting that Rockstar North was less affected.

He argued that the current GTA 6 leaks are considerably less consequential than that earlier controversy.

“It looks like gta6 will be phenomenal and sell for the next 15 years or so. The leaks are just a tiny blip,” he concluded.