A new Grand Theft Auto 6 and Rockstar Games has a leak GTA fans excited, but unfortunately it smells like fake. However, this hasn’t stopped it from completing the rounds within the Grand Theft Car community and being picked up by many as a real leak. As for the leak itself, it comes in the way of a music producer and Twitter user named Chiko Kan, who recently shared an email allegedly from Richard Barnes, head of international communications at Rockstar Games.
In the email, Barnes invites Kan to partner with Rockstar Games to help put together music for the developer’s “upcoming projects in 2021”, one of which will be “HUGE”. The alleged email doesn’t reveal much else remarkable and doesn’t refer to a single IP address, but the prevailing assumption is that the ‘HUGE’ project refers to GTA 6.
Below you can view the email itself:
There were a lot of ups and downs in 2020, but we kept on sharpening and we are now moving strongly into 2021💪🏾
I just want to say thank you to everyone who helped and supported me this year❤️ pic.twitter.com/uLl0SHEu8U
– Chiko Kan (@CKanzz) December 31, 2020
If this leak is legitimate, it suggests either GTA 6 will be unveiled this year or even released this year, although we know that the latter is practically impossible at the moment for several reasons. Again, this could be something related to GTA Online or something completely new, but the safe bet would be that HUGE is a reference to GTA 6.
That said, this seems fake. First, the color of the text between the second and third paragraphs is not even the same color. That’s a pretty big red flag, but it’s not the only red flag. The other red flag is the fact that Barnes left Rockstar Games in 2019. None of these red flags on their own 100 percent and completely debunk the leak, but combined they come as close to definitively unmasking as you can get.
If the email is genuine and relatively new, Kan probably hasn’t gone through the NDA process yet, which is why he could share it on Twitter. However, it can’t be new as Barnes hasn’t been to Rockstar Games since 2019.
There are a lot of holes in this leak, but that doesn’t stop it from making the rounds. At the time of publication, Kan has not commented on the criticism of the leak and Rockstar Games has not commented on the situation in any way. As a result, GTA fans are left with speculation and a dubious-looking email.