Is the GTA 6 release date bombshell real or fake?

The release date for Grand Theft Auto 6 has allegedly leaked online, along with a date for the trailer and announcement.

However, while the proposed dates seem sensible and convincing, the source does not.

A "leaked" voice memo has appeared online that is said to feature the CEO of Rockstar's parent company Take-Two, Strauss Zelnick. In it, he discusses the announcement and release windows of the hugely-anticipated follow-up to 2013's GTA V.

If taken as real, the memo reveals that the official announcement of GTA 6 will take place in October this year, with the game hitting stores 12-months later – in October 2024.

That certainly fits with Zelnick's previous corroborated statements that Take-Two is set for a massive fiscal year 25, which runs from April next year to March 2025. So far, so good.

However, the audio clip (which, according to Game Rant, has since been pulled from the web) has been debunked by some fans. They claim that it is a deepfake made using Zelnick's voice and rendered using AI.

The evidence, they say, is that in it he refers to the game as "Grand Theft Auto V [vee] I [eye]". And, while some might call it that when looking at the supposed logo, few human beings would actually use that vernacular – let alone the boss of the company set to release it.

But, even if it is fake, it could be that the game will release in October 2024 anyway. It could have been made by a fan using recent rumours that have been flying around, and that date does make sense for the reasons we've outlined above.

After all, plenty of phone renders tend to appear each year that are based on speculation rather than confirmed fact, yet turn out to be very close to the truth.

Maybe this clip is bang on the money, even if AI-generated. We guess we'll have to wait until this October to find out for sure.

In our own opinion, we expect Rockstar to make some form of announcement on or around 17 September, as that day marks the 10th anniversary of GTA 5, so would be as good a time as any to finally unveil its successor.