GTA 6 trailer leaked on X / Twitter, forcing Rockstar Games to release an official version early

With over a decade since the last Grand Theft Auto game, the Dec. 5, 2023, release date for the GTA 6 trailer was highly anticipated.

However, the excitement turned to surprise when an anonymous leaker prematurely dropped the trailer on X (formerly known as Twitter).

Evidently responding to the leaked trailer spreading across the internet, Rockstar Games took the unexpected step of releasing their official version of the GTA 6 trailer ahead of schedule. The official trailer is now accessible on YouTube.

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The X account @Gta6trailerleak seemingly existed for one purpose: to leak the GTA 6 trailer. The video was promptly removed, as seen from circulating screenshots. X suspended the account within an hour after the leaked trailer was posted.

According to The Verge’s Tom Warren, Rockstar publicly shared their official trailer around 10 minutes after X suspended the account responsible for the leaked video.

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The legitimate leaked video contained a “BUY $BTC” watermark over the entire clip.

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Encountering leaks, piracy, and unauthorized content has been an ongoing issue for X, particularly after introducing extended-length video uploads for paying X Premium subscribers. Users have been disregarding copyright holders by posting complete feature films on the platform without permission.

X CEO Linda Yaccarino recently highlighted the massive engagement Rockstar’s GTA 6 post received on the platform in anticipation of the Tuesday release date.

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“90+ million views in under 12hrs,” Yaccarino posted. “See you Tuesday!”

However, thanks to the unexpected leak, GTA 6 fans were able to get an early glimpse ahead of Tuesday.