Rockstar Has Gone Full CIA Mode to Stop GTA 6 Leaks, and It's Actually Working

Multiple gaming insiders confirmed this week that Rockstar is using a classic intelligence tactic called a “canary trap” to hunt down leakers. The method is straightforward. The studio gives each developer or team slightly different versions of certain GTA 6 details. Every piece of information works like a unique fingerprint. If any of it shows up online, Rockstar can trace exactly who shared it. Intelligence agencies have used this approach for decades. Now it has come to the gaming industry.

Reece “KiwiTalkz” Reilly, a well-known industry commentator who has interviewed hundreds of developers, described Rockstar’s current state as being locked down like Area 51. He said getting any intel is “almost impossible” and confirmed the misinformation strategy is “100% true.” Even established leakers are backing off. Call of Duty leaker TheGhostofHope said he would never attempt Rockstar leaks, and even if he knew something, he would probably keep it to himself.

When leakers voluntarily choose silence, you know something has changed.

Why Rockstar Went This Far

This level of secrecy is a direct response to the devastating 2022 hack. An 18-year-old hacker named Arion Kurtaj, part of the Lapsus$ group, broke into Rockstar’s systems from a hotel room using an Amazon Firestick and a mobile phone.

He released over 90 clips of early GTA 6 footage. Rockstar confirmed the leak was real and said it cost them $5 million plus thousands of hours of developer time. Kurtaj was sentenced to indefinite confinement in a secure hospital.

That breach clearly reshaped how the company operates. Rockstar mandated full return-to-office for all employees in 2024, specifically citing leak prevention. Then in October 2025, the studio fired 34 employees across UK and Canadian offices for sharing confidential GTA 6 details, including a “top secret” 32-player online mode, in a Discord server that included non-Rockstar members.

The Independent Workers’ Union of Great Britain accused the studio of union busting, and the case is now in the Glasgow Employment Tribunal. Three more individual firings followed at studios in Lincoln, the US, and India.

The message is clear: share anything, and your career is done.

Fake Leaks Are Everywhere Now

With real information locked down, the internet has filled the gap with fakes. In February 2026, a fabricated gameplay clip pulled over 500,000 views before the community spotted AI-generated menu images and spelling errors in the interface.

Back in November 2025, a French social media account called Zap Actu GTA6 posted clips that racked up 8.1 million views before the creator admitted everything was AI-generated, saying it was meant to show how easy it is to fool people.

Some of this fake content might actually be planted by Rockstar itself as part of the canary trap, making it nearly impossible to trust anything that surfaces before launch.

One area where real leaks keep slipping through is music. Artists are not used to the gaming industry’s extreme NDAs. Panama appeared to confirm their song “Back to Life” would be on the GTA 6 radio in a now-deleted Instagram comment.

Neon Indian hinted at continued Rockstar work on a podcast. Rapper Jermaine Dupri revealed in an interview that Drake would have his own radio station in the game. These music leaks carry more weight because the artists have little reason to make them up.

Fans Are Not Handling the Wait Well

According to Reilly, people have tried entering Rockstar offices with fake employee IDs and flown drones near windows hoping to catch a glimpse of the game on a developer’s screen.

None of these attempts reportedly worked, but the behavior is real enough that Rockstar is reportedly considering delaying the physical disc release to prevent stolen copies from leaking before launch.

On Reddit and gaming forums, the community has mostly settled into a mix of impatience and acceptance. Fans are getting better at spotting fakes. Most agree that Rockstar has never shipped a bad game and that the wait will be worth it.

GTA 6 is still on track for November 19, 2026. Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick says he feels “extraordinarily good” about the date and confirmed the marketing campaign starts this summer. Production costs have reportedly exceeded $1 billion.

For now, anyone posting supposed GTA 6 insider info should be treated with heavy skepticism. The people who actually know something are not talking. Rockstar borrowed from the CIA’s playbook, and it worked.