A significant leak, reportedly comprising nearly 200GB of Grand Theft Auto 5's source code, has surfaced online, offering glimpses into Rockstar Games' development past and potentially future projects. Initial analysis of the leaked data suggests that the studio had ambitious plans for a Liberty City-themed downloadable content for GTA 5 that were ultimately scrapped. The leak also appears to contain early development files related to Grand Theft Auto 6.
Online reports indicate that fans have been meticulously examining the vast trove of newly accessible files. These findings reportedly include a wealth of cut content from GTA 5, such as discarded dialogue, abandoned missions, and unused assets. Crucially, the data allegedly reveals a rough version of the GTA 6 map and detailed information about the canceled Liberty City DLC. One YouTuber, TJGM, shared an outline of what is believed to be the DLC's map coastline, indicating a significantly larger playable area than what was featured in Grand Theft Auto 4's depiction of New York City. TJGM emphasized that this was not a screenshot but data viewed within a development tool.
Some speculation suggests that the Liberty City DLC might have been shelved to be repurposed for a future GTA 6 expansion, though evidence for this remains unconfirmed. The potential existence of this DLC is further supported by a screenshot of Liberty City within GTA 5's engine, which reportedly appeared on a Rockstar artist's portfolio a decade ago, suggesting it was in development before being abandoned.
This is not the first time details about unreleased GTA 5 DLCs have emerged. The voice actor for Trevor Philips, Steven Ogg, previously spoke about a planned "James Bond Trevor" DLC where the character would go undercover for the government. While Rockstar reportedly captured some footage for this story, the studio shifted its focus entirely to Grand Theft Auto Online. Materials related to this 'Agent Trevor' DLC are also rumored to be part of the current leak, though the extent of their inclusion is not yet clear.
Years ago, Joseph Rubino, a former senior camera artist and digital cinematographer at Rockstar, discussed the 'Agent Trevor' DLC. He explained that development teams were split, with some working on GTA Online and the DLC, while others moved to early Red Dead Redemption 2 development. Rubino noted that the immense success of GTA Online as a "cash cow" made it difficult to justify standalone DLCs that might not achieve the same financial returns, a business decision he personally found disappointing in retrospect.