Rockstar Games’ Aaron Garbut has opened up about how difficult it was to deal with the massive GTA 6 leaks in 2022, comparing the experience to someone going through his dirty laundry.

Speaking to Bloomberg, the Rockstar North co-head explained how uncomfortable it felt to see unfinished footage from Grand Theft Auto VI spread across the internet before the studio was ready to show the game.

“It feels like somebody’s wading through your dirty washing,” Garbut told Bloomberg when discussing the leak. He also described dealing with the incident as “quite hard.”

The comments offer a rare look at how the leak affected the people working on GTA 6.

While the footage gave fans an early look at the game, it also exposed unfinished parts of development that Rockstar had not planned to share publicly.

The 2022 GTA 6 leak was one of the biggest security incidents in gaming history. Dozens of videos showing early development footage appeared online, revealing Jason and Lucia, gunfights, vehicle gameplay, and parts of the game’s open world.

The footage spread quickly across social media, giving fans a glimpse of GTA 6 years before its planned release.

However, the material was taken from an unfinished version of the game, meaning many details could still change during development.

For Rockstar’s developers, the situation was especially difficult because the leaked footage did not represent the finished experience they were working to create.

Seeing work-in-progress material shared without context can also expose ideas and features before the team has had time to polish them.

The incident also raised serious questions about security at Rockstar.

Following the leak, the company continued working on GTA 6 while protecting its development process and keeping future details under wraps.

Garbut’s comments highlight the personal side of game leaks, which often gets overlooked when fans focus on the footage itself.

While players may be excited to see an unreleased game early, developers can find it uncomfortable to have unfinished work exposed to millions of people.

Fans can learn more about Grand Theft Auto VI through the official Rockstar Games website. The game is scheduled to launch on November 19, 2026, for PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S.