Summary
- Rockstar Games considered GTA Online plans in 2001 – a leaked design document outlines character creation, progression, and missions.
- Leak also reveals cut content from San Andreas.
- Former Rockstar Games dev confirms legitimacy of some of the leaked documents.
A major Grand Theft Auto leak has surfaced on the internet and revealed original GTA Online plans from 2001, cut content from San Andreas, among other things. It is the third successive year that developer Rockstar Games’s internal files, related to Grand Theft Auto, have been leaked online.
As one of the most popular video game franchises of all time, Grand Theft Auto is constantly under the proverbial magnifying glass of players and leakers alike. Back in 2022, multiple GTA 6 files were leaked, showing gameplay videos of an in-development build. Then, the source code of GTA 5, along with files concerning canceled projects like Bully 2 and Agent, was also reportedly shared by an unauthorized source on December 25, 2023. Coincidentally, more of Rockstar Games’s GTA documents have been exposed yet again on Christmas Day, revealing new information about some of the open-world franchise’s biggest releases in the past.
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Several design documents related to the original GTA Online, San Andreas, Vice City Stories, and GTA Advance have been uploaded to the Internet Archive, as announced in a GTAForums post by user FrankieLiberty (via GTA Focal). A chunk of the leaked information is related to the canceled spiritual predecessor to GTA Online. According to the GTAForums user, these documents were shared online as “a sign of protest” aimed at a seller going by the name of “john doe,” who had been allegedly buying others’ content, including “illegal stolen content” from Rockstar Games, for cheap and reselling it to buyers for “10x the price.” Even though the leaks appear to have been publicly shared just recently, they were originally posted on the digital media archive on December 17, 2024. Since the leaks came out, ex-Rockstar Games dev Obbe Vermeij—known for sharing GTA-related trivia on Twitter—also corroborated some of the documents’ claims and called at least a part of these leaks “legitimate.”
Leaked GTA Files Shed Light on Canceled Content
Most prominently, the latest leak brings to the fore the fact that Rockstar Games had been planning to make an online multiplayer version of Grand Theft Auto since at least May 2001. A 58-page design document for a project titled “GTA: Online” outlines features such as character creation, character progression, and mission structure envisioned for the game. Verifying the authenticity of the GTA 3 design document, Vermeij revealed he had prepared the basics for an online deathmatch for “gta3-online” but had to exit the project as it required “a LOT more work.” Moreover, he mentioned that Barking Dog, which later became Rockstar Vancouver, “probably” produced a design document for “gta-online,” but the project didn’t receive any further approval. The leaks also shared that there were supposed to be eight girlfriends in San Andreas at one point, two more than what made the final cut. Other documents revolve around early map designs and missions for Vice City Stories, alongside “final improvement” notes for GTA Advance.
These GTA leaks come at a time when fans are restlessly waiting for the second GTA 6 trailer. While there is no official word on when that may be shown, fans have come up with their own theories regarding the next GTA 6 trailer’s reveal date.
Grand Theft Auto
Grand Theft Auto is an action-adventure franchise originally created by David Jones and Mike Dailly from DMA Design in 1997. Following the release of Grand Theft Auto 3 in 2001, DMA Design was renamed Rockstar North and became part of that label for Take-Two Interactive. The franchise typically revolves around third person shooting and driving around open worlds that are inspired by real world locations like Miami, New York, and Los Angeles. With the release of Grand Theft Auto 5 in 2013, the series has quickly become the fifth best selling video game franchise of all time.