GTA 6 Is So Secretive Even the Original GTA Creators Haven't Played It

Rockstar Games has built a reputation for revealing almost nothing about its biggest projects until it chooses to, and Grand Theft Auto 6 appears to be no exception. According to a BBC interview with two of the people who made the original Grand Theft Auto, the studio's secrecy is so complete that even series veterans have not been given early access.

Dave Jones, co-creator of the first game, and Brian Baglow, its writer and publicist, were asked whether they had played the new title ahead of release. Baglow shook his head. He was not complaining, though: "I've got the pre-order," he said ^¹. Jones framed the situation with a note of curiosity rather than grievance, saying the original team is waiting to see what Rockstar has built.

The context around that wait is unusually long. The BBC piece describes a 13-year gap since the previous entry, two delays, and several high-profile leaks, all feeding an extraordinary level of anticipation for a series that is nearly 30 years old ^². Rockstar has kept its biggest release yet tightly under wraps, and the reporting makes clear that the people who helped bring the original to life are not getting special treatment.

Back to Dundee

The first Grand Theft Auto arrived in 1997 in Dundee, Scotland, from DMA Design, a relatively small team by the standards of later games. The studio had found success with the puzzle game Lemmings and was exploring a racing title initially called Race'n'Chase. Jones told the BBC that the developers still felt they had to bring something new to the table, and the answer came in a premise players now take for granted: "just getting out of the car." Being able to drive, steal and switch vehicles while also running around on foot became the distinctive spin the team was looking for.

That small design decision is the seed of the open-world crime formula the series is now known for, and it is also why the interview carries a certain weight. The people describing the original's origins are the same people who have not seen what the modern studio has done with the idea.

What the reporting does not say

The BBC interview does not establish a release date for Grand Theft Auto 6, a price, or any details of its content. It also does not say whether Jones or Baglow have any formal relationship with Rockstar today; the piece presents them as the original game's creators reflecting on the series, not as insiders with access. Their lack of early access should be read as a sign of how tightly Rockstar controls information, not as evidence of any rift or dispute.

One widely repeated figure does appear in secondary coverage: a report on the Turkish outlet Haberler, citing BBC News, states that the game has become the most pre-ordered title in the history of the PlayStation and Xbox digital stores, and mentions a 212 GB download size for those pre-ordering in advance ^³. That outlet's report is undated in the supplied material beyond a timestamp, and the pre-order record and file size are claims made by that outlet rather than confirmed by the BBC interview itself, so they should be treated as reported figures rather than verified specifications.

What the primary reporting does support is narrower and more human: the original creators are waiting like everyone else. Baglow has put his money down, Jones is curious, and neither has seen the game. In an industry where early access is often a perk of proximity to the developer, that is a notable detail about how Rockstar chooses to operate.

For players, the practical takeaway is limited. There is no new release date in the reporting, no confirmed performance details for consoles or PC, and no indication of when reviews or hands-on impressions might appear. Anyone planning a purchase is still working from Rockstar's own announcements and store listings, not from the creators' testimony.

The more interesting question is what the secrecy is protecting. Rockstar's marketing model depends on controlled revelation, and the fact that even the series' founders are outside the tent suggests the studio is saving its answers for a moment of its own choosing. Until then, the people who started it all are in the same position as the rest of us: pre-ordered, curious, and waiting.

Sources

1. ¹ Even Grand Theft Auto's original creators haven't been able to play GTA 6 www.bbc.com
2. ² Even Grand Theft Auto's original creators haven't been able to play GTA 6 ca.news.yahoo.com
3. ³ GTA 6 has become the most pre-ordered game in history on PlayStation and Xbox! Even the creators of the series haven't been able to play it yet. en.haberler.com