Two more purported Grand Theft Auto 6 gameplay clips dropped online this week (more are probably dropping by the time you read this), courtesy of the same leaker group operating under the name CyberLeek that posted the first two clips just days prior. Rockstar has been issuing DMCA takedowns as fast as the footage spreads, but not before players and analysts picked apart every frame. The clips are unconfirmed, and Rockstar has not commented on their legitimacy, but they look convincing enough that the details inside are worth breaking down.
This matters because Rockstar's official gameplay reveal is scheduled for August 27 on Netflix, making these leaks an unusually early and detailed look at systems the studio has kept quiet for years. What these new clips show isn't just flashy open-world chaos. They reveal mechanical decisions that tell you a lot about what kind of game GTA 6 actually wants to be.
Stealing cars just got a lot more interesting
Here's the thing that stood out most from the new footage (no we can't show you the video leaks): when Jason approaches a vehicle he doesn't own, the interaction prompt now offers two options. The classic "Smash Window" is still there, but sitting next to it is a new option called "Clone Key." The clip doesn't show the full animation or mechanic behind it, but the implication is clear. Quiet car theft is now on the table.
For context, GTA 5 gave you exactly one way to take a car that wasn't yours. You yanked the door open, possibly beat the driver, and drove off with a three-star wanted level forming behind you. Cloning a key suggests a slower, stealthier approach that avoids the immediate heat. Whether this requires a specific tool, a cooldown, or some kind of skill progression isn't shown, but the option existing at all signals that Rockstar is building out more meaningful choices around how you interact with the world.
The footage featuring Tate McRae's 2025 track "Sports Car" playing in the background is also worth noting. It suggests this particular clip comes from a relatively recent build, not placeholder footage from years ago.
The aiming system looks fundamentally different
The nighttime clip shows Jason raiding an Allied Crystal refinery, taking out security with a taser before jacking a truck. What catches the eye isn't the taser itself, it's how the aiming works. The reticle stays visible on screen at all times while the weapon is equipped, without Jason needing to raise it to fire. That's a significant departure from how GTA has handled combat for the last decade.
In GTA 5, shooting required you to aim down sights or use the lock-on system to reliably hit anything. A persistent on-screen reticle suggests hipfire is viable, or at least that the game is moving toward a more responsive, cover-shooter feel where you're not fumbling to raise your weapon before a guard closes the distance. If that translates to the full combat system, fights in GTA 6 could feel snappier and more intentional than the floaty gunplay GTA 5 sometimes produced.
Talking to strangers, or stabbing them?
GTA 5 had a button that let you say something to a random NPC, but you never really controlled what came out. The new clips show a more deliberate system: when Jason approaches a group of people under a freeway, the prompt gives the player a clear choice between "Greet" and "Taunt." That's directly in line with the NPC interaction system from Red Dead Redemption 2 and, going further back, Bully.
The player in the leaked footage chooses neither diplomatically. They stab the NPCs instead. But the existence of the choice itself is what matters. If you've played RDR2, you'll recognize the potential here. That game's honor system was built partly on these small decisions, and the greet/taunt split suggests GTA 6 might be building something similar, even if the tone is less "noble outlaw" and more "Florida man."
Looting, item management & environment realism
The clips also show Jason looting bodies after his rampage under the freeway. The animation is noticeably quicker than RDR2's deliberate pocket-rummaging, which is probably the right call for GTA's faster pace. You still have to crouch down to the body, but it doesn't grind the moment to a halt.
Separate from the weapon wheel, there appears to be a dedicated item wheel, which would be another system carried over from RDR2. Having weapons and consumables on separate radial menus is a small quality-of-life detail, but it matters when you're mid-combat and need to find a healing item without accidentally switching guns.
Speaking of healing items: the clips show Jason using something called "Zombix," which comes with an in-game warning that repeated use will temporarily reduce its effectiveness on your health. A diminishing returns system on healing consumables is the kind of friction that makes you actually think about resource management rather than just spamming health packs. Whether that extends to other consumables isn't clear yet.
Moreover, in one clip, as Jason walks under a freeway overpass, a bird falls out of the sky and hits the ground. Then another one does the same thing moments later. No explanation, no prompt, no reaction from Jason.
It's almost certainly an environmental detail Rockstar baked in for world texture, the kind of morbid realism that makes Vice City feel like a place rather than a set. Dead birds on the ground aren't unusual. Birds dropping out of the sky directly in front of you in real time is. Whether it's a scripted ambient event, a physics system quirk, or some kind of environmental storytelling tied to the area is unknown. But it's the kind of detail that makes you realize how much is probably going on in this world that won't get explained in a trailer.
Will the leaks stop?
Taken together, the new clips paint a picture of a GTA that's borrowing heavily from RDR2's simulation-leaning design without fully committing to that game's slower pace. Faster looting, quieter car theft options, a greet/taunt NPC system, persistent weapon reticles, and a healing item with diminishing returns all point toward a game that wants more texture and consequence than GTA 5 had, but still wants to move at GTA speed.
The real question is how these systems interact with the broader open world. A fuel meter spotted in earlier clips, combined with key cloning and NPC interaction choices, suggests Rockstar is building toward a Vice City where moment-to-moment decisions carry more weight. But perhaps the bigger question is, how many of these leaks are real, and will they ever stop ahead of the upcoming reveal? The leaker claims to have the game's story and even threatened to leak Lucia's ending if Rockstar “doesn't apologize” for the latest wave pushing gamers towards a digital-only gaming future. So if you hate game spoilers, I'd stay off X for the next few days - for now.
For everything confirmed about the game so far, including character customization details for both Jason and Lucia, check out the rest of the GTA 6 guide collection as Rockstar's, official, August 27 reveal approaches.
