Grand Theft Auto 6's 'announcement' is a hoax, Rockstar confirms (Updated)

Update: Luckily for our Fraser, he is not required to eat his underpants (see below). Rockstar has confirmed the Grand Theft Auto 6 "Coming 2019" message that appeared for some GTA Online players yesterday is, as we expected, not real.

As suggested by some members of the GTA community—later confirmed by the developer itself—it appears modders found a way to hijack Rockstar's announcement system. This may be why the message also appeared for some players in singleplayer mode.

When asked about the veracity of the message, Rockstar Support said: "This is a hoax made with the use of mods, and not an official message or statement from Rockstar Games."

Our original story follows.

This is a hoax made with the use of mods, and not an official message or statement from Rockstar Games. *NMJuly 2, 2018

Original story:

I’ll eat my underpants if it’s real, but an in-game message in GTA Online has been teasing the arrival of Grand Theft Auto 6, absent any other fanfare. The message purports to come from Rockstar and it’s been reported by multiple people on different platforms, accompanied by screenshots. It’s complete nonsense, but convincing nonsense.

The message, simply stating that GTA 6 is due out next year, has been popping up over the weekend, and while it's almost certainly completely fake, it does look official. It’s not, of course, but you can see how it could send fans into a frothing frenzy of speculation and hopes.

Marketing stunts and stealth announcements like this aren’t unheard of, so that Rockstar would announce GTA 6 in this unconventional way isn’t entirely unbelievable. Everything else is, however. The proximity to Red Dead Redemption 2’s launch, a link that doesn’t back up the announcement and the lack of any other evidence all suggests bullshit.

GamesRadar also points out that only the platforms with modding contain the message, and it’s not appearing for everyone even on those platforms. Samuel jumped in today and didn’t get the message, and others have reported the same thing. So apparently this massive announcement is only appearing for a select few and on select platforms? Sure.

So don’t get your hopes up.

Fraser is the UK online editor and has actually met The Internet in person. With over a decade of experience, he's been around the block a few times, serving as a freelancer, news editor and prolific reviewer. Strategy games have been a 30-year-long obsession, from tiny RTSs to sprawling political sims, and he never turns down the chance to rave about Total War or Crusader Kings. He's also been known to set up shop in the latest MMO and likes to wind down with an endlessly deep, systemic RPG. These days, when he's not editing, he can usually be found writing features that are 1,000 words too long or talking about his dog.