Fans think GTA 6's 'first screenshot' is too good to be true

Rockstar Games is tinkering under the hood of Grand Theft Auto series, and as we (impatiently) wait for GTA 6, the long-awaited sequel to 2013's record-breaking GTA V is potentially out there in the wild. 

While it's sometimes hard to figure out what's the real deal and what's someone looking for upvotes with GTA leaks, we know there was a major breach in 2022. Take-Two Interactive confirmed an early build of GTA 6 escaped the lab, but now, fans are only just realising how impressive it looks. 

What does the 'first' GTA 6 screenshot show?

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Now, one supposed insider claims to have a fresh GTA 6 screenshot that's pulled from the game ahead of its release - whenever that is. Even though it's a screenshot from last year's leaks, it's doing the rounds online. If it's the real deal, it's our first proper look at the AAAA (that's four As) title. 

Over on Reddit, u/thetensedoctor showed off the screenshot. There's a female protagonist and a group of men to the left, as well as a nighttime setting and some dynamic lighting. It's likely that these are placeholder character models instead of the finished product. Still, they're impressive. 

Wherever/whenever this supposed screenshot is from, it's a massive improvement on most of what we saw in last year's leak. Back then, players slammed the game's look but forgot it was apparently a few years old. 

Players react to GTA 6 screenshot

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Even the harshest of GTA critics have to agree this looks pretty fine, and bear in mind, this almost certainly isn't the finished product. As you can imagine, there are plenty thinking it looks a little too good. Is this just another fake to make us look like fools? 

One player was so blown away, they wrote, "That could have fooled me as a real photo if I didn't zoom in. Suggesting it's from a pre-alpha build, another gushed, "Looks already better than Watchdogs 2 final build."

A third added, "This is the best nighttime I’ve seen thus far except rdr2, this game looks unbelievable even during the testing phase and better than 90% of the games out rn, R* has outdone themselves yet again."

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Someone else concluded, "It’s going to be so detailed and full of everything and things to do and ways to go about missions and so on…. Not sure we are even ready."

It wasn't long ago that we heard GTA 6 was in a "turbulent state" and had been potentially restarted. Hardly looks like it from what we can see above, but then again, we're still in a state of limbo while waiting for an official GTA 6 release date.

If Rockstar continues polishing the game, we're in danger of being unable to differentiate whether we're in a video game or shooting up a bank in real life. Either way, GTA 6 seems to be on track to be the biggest game of all time.