GTA 6 pre-orders leak May 18–21

Rockstar Games has not confirmed a Grand Theft Auto VI pre-order date, but gaming sites and social-media accounts circulated screenshots on May 14 that they said came from Best Buy’s affiliate system and pointed to a May 18-21 campaign window. IGN, Forbes and Vice each reported on the screenshots and said the alleged materials referred to physical pre-orders rather than a full Rockstar announcement. Best Buy’s public search pages did not show a live Grand Theft Auto VI product listing as of May 15, and Rockstar’s own site still showed only the game page and its previously announced release date. Rockstar said in November that Grand Theft Auto VI is scheduled to launch on November 19, 2026. ### What exactly did the alleged Best Buy material say? IGN’s May 14 report said a YouTuber, Frogboyx1gaming, appeared during a livestream to receive an email tied to a Best Buy affiliate account that signaled a Grand Theft Auto VI pre-order campaign running from May 18 to May 21. Forbes reported the same date range and said multiple affiliates had allegedly received similar messages. Vice said the email being shared online referred to pre-orders beginning on Monday, May 18, 2026. (forbes.com) Forbes’ Paul Tassi wrote that the number of people sharing the alleged email made him think it was unlikely to be a fabricated image, though he also said no trailer or wider marketing beat had been confirmed. IGN described the email as a potential sign that pre-orders were close, while noting the authenticity debate around the screenshots. Those reports all treated the material as unconfirmed. (me.ign.com) ### Has Rockstar or Best Buy actually confirmed pre-orders? Rockstar’s official Grand Theft Auto VI page did not list pre-order details as of May 15, and Rockstar’s Newswire showed no post announcing pre-orders. Best Buy’s searchable retail pages returned results for other Rockstar titles and unrelated products, but not a live Grand Theft Auto VI purchase page with a listed edition or price. Best Buy’s video-game releases page says the retailer highlights featured pre-orders and release events on that section of its site. (forbes.com) That page showed other upcoming titles with release dates and prices, but no Grand Theft Auto VI entry in the material surfaced by search results reviewed on May 15. That does not rule out a later listing, but there was no public confirmation on the company’s site at the time of writing. (rockstargames.com) ### Why are people tying the dates to a new trailer? Vice and IGN both said fans linked the alleged May 18 start date to speculation that Rockstar could pair pre-orders with a third trailer. Forbes also said a trailer in the same window was a common assumption among fans and commentators, but noted that no such trailer had been confirmed. The connection appears to come from marketing logic and fan expectation, not from any statement by Rockstar. (bestbuy.com) Rockstar’s current public Grand Theft Auto VI page includes Trailer 2 and character details for Jason and Lucia, but no mention of Trailer 3. That left the trailer talk in the category of rumor as of May 15. ### What is officially known about the game right now? Rockstar said on November 6, 2025 that Grand Theft Auto VI would release on Thursday, November 19, 2026. The company said the added time would allow it to finish the game with the “level of polish” players expect. (vice.com) Rockstar’s game page says the title is set in Leonida, including Vice City, and centers on Jason and Lucia. (rockstargames.com) Take-Two Interactive, Rockstar’s parent company, has a quarterly earnings event scheduled for May 21, 2026 at 8:30 p.m. UTC, according to its investor-relations site. Gaming outlets have pointed to that date because it falls at the end of the alleged pre-order window, though Take-Two’s posted event notice does not promise any Grand Theft Auto VI marketing announcement. ### What should readers watch next? May 18 is the first date named in the circulating screenshots, so that is the first practical checkpoint for whether a retailer listing appears. (rockstargames.com) Rockstar’s Newswire, Rockstar’s Grand Theft Auto VI page and Take-Two’s May 21 earnings materials are the clearest official places to watch for confirmation on pre-orders, editions, pricing or any new trailer. (rockstargames.com) (take2games.com)