GTA 6 Review Lockdown May Force Journalists to Travel to Secret Locations

by Chris Harper — Monday, May 18, 2026, 03:20 PM EDT

Last week, an e-mail went out to Best Buy Creators promising that Grand Theft Auto VI pre-orders would open today, May 18th. While the legitimacy of the Best Buy email leak has been repeatedly confirmed by various insiders, the big day has arrived without the promised pre-order availability, and now a rumor is circulating that pre-launch review copies will not be distributed at all. This is a strange turn of events, to be sure, but it could suggest any number of things; the most likely explanation is that Best Buy jumped the gun of its own accord, but there's also the possibility that pre-launch plans are changing over at series publisher Take-Two Interactive. The "why" behind the Best Buy email leak remains unknown, so any explanation at this point is purely speculation, but it does cast recent and ongoing events related to Grand Theft Auto VI in an interesting light.

In the video below, Brazilian games journalist PH Luppi Litte claims that, instead of being sent review copies or game keys as is customary for new releases, game reviewers will instead be whisked away to a private location and held for the remainder of the pre-release review period all in the name of preventing early leaks. (Footage via @PortalViciados on X/Twitter, spotted via WCCFTech).

A Rockstar Games irá enviar jornalistas para um local fechado para testar GTA 6, afirma jornalista brasileiro que trabalhou em grandes portais como o Omelete e UOL. 🚨

Durante o podcast X do Controle, PH Lutti Lippe revelou que a Rockstar adotará um esquema de segurança máxima… pic.twitter.com/p5TlJWyewy
— Portal Viciados (@PortalViciados) May 16, 2026

It sounds crazy, but it's important to remember that there is historical precedent for moves like this. While it would be the first time for the Grand Theft Auto series, past AAA releases have occasionally taken similar steps to stop leaks, with the most recent major example in mind being the launch of Metal Gear Solid V back in 2015 where Konami famously held "review boot camps" for press with tight restrictions around discussion of the ending and story details. In the long-term, that move actually proved controversial among the fans, some of whom felt that the game's story was overly praised by journalists in attendance, but the positive impressions of the gameplay itself remain to this day. Earlier, Microsoft took similar measures with Halo 3, and pre-release access to Half-Life 2 was also strictly limited after the famous 2003 source leak.

As gamers discuss the ramifications of the decision to kill pre-launch copies of GTA VI on social media (with some fearing the worst, thinking it's simply a way to hide poor performance at launch), Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick has stated outright in an extended interview with YouTuber David Senra that "we're about 18 months behind the original date" with the current launch date for GTA VI. This could lend credence to the idea that Best Buy's move was based on a past agreement with Take-Two. After all, the first delay pushed the title to May 26th of this year before the second one gave us our current November 19th date. Whatever the case, we're expecting a third trailer for the blockbuster crime simulator sooner than later, as Take-Two's full-year fiscal 2026 financial results will come out this Thursday.

Tags: Rockstar Games, Take-Two Interactive, (NASDAQ:TTWO), grand theft auto vi, gta 6, console gaming

Chris Harper

Christopher Harper is a tech writer with over a decade of experience writing how-tos and news. Off work, he stays sharp with gym time & stylish action games.