‘GTA 6’ Release Date: Messages Announcing 2019 Launch Window Are Fake, Rockstar Confirms

“Grand Theft Auto V: San Andreas” is still selling like hotcakes and its multiplayer component is still making a lot of money. This is why it was a surprise when players started receiving messages that the sixth installment of the franchise was coming in 2019. According to Rockstar Games, however, this was not sent by them and the announcement was fake. Instead, it might have been sent by a hacker with the use of mods.

As Forbes notes, the video game industry is no stranger to fake news. In fact, the community often thrives on it by spreading rumors and the most recent so-called leaks that would be trending. With the “Grand Theft Auto” franchise being so popular, it’s one of the biggest targets in the business.

This was exemplified quite clearly when someone sent out messages to players of “GTA Online,” indicating that “GTA 6” would be released in 2019. The messages even encouraged users to pre-order their copy of the game.

Rockstar quickly stepped in to address the issue, sending out a tweet that classified the messages as fake. This was in reply to a flurry of questions from other users on the platform as to whether or not the announcement was real.

“This is a hoax made with the use of mods, and not an official message or statement from Rockstar Games,” the tweet reads.

As of this writing, official details with regards to how this came about are still scarce. Rockstar has not divulged anything further, so the internet was left to form its own theories. Among the leading proposals was that a hacker used a mod to take advantage of vulnerabilities in the messaging system, GameSpot reports.

The publication also notes how choosing such a route to announce its next blockbuster game would be wildly out of character for Rockstar. The company has been proven to be a smart, measured marketer in the past. Spontaneous revelations just are not part of its repertoire.