The critic's name, flashing and jumping around the screen while they play. That, according to journalist Jeremy Conrad (ManaByte on X), is how GTA 6 review copies are being protected. "The review copies apparently are watermarked, with the reviewer's name flashing on the screen to prevent leaks," he wrote.
His post is the latest in a week of reports about how — and when — the press will be allowed to talk about the game. None of them has been confirmed by Rockstar or Take-Two. Everything below is rumor, credited to whoever said it.
The date: November 18
The schedule came from BlackBate, a ResetEra forum user, on October 23. As relayed by eGamers and Tech Insider, the review embargo lifts on November 18, a day before the November 19 launch on PS5 and Xbox Series X|S. Scores would start appearing between 12:01 and 1:01 p.m. Central European Time (6 to 7 a.m. Eastern). Some sites and YouTube channels would have to wait until launch day itself.
eGamers points out that BlackBate has called announcements before — Microsoft Flight Simulator, Death Stranding, Pragmata and Assassin's Creed Black Flag Resynced — and, in the same breath, says that doesn't make the post a confirmation.
Across time zones
We converted the times in the report, accounting for Europe having already left summer time and the US doing so on November 1:
| Moment (per BlackBate) | Central Europe | US Eastern | Brasília |
|---|---|---|---|
| First reviews | Nov 18, 12:01 p.m. | Nov 18, 6:01 a.m. | Nov 18, 8:01 a.m. |
| Main window closes | Nov 18, 1:01 p.m. | Nov 18, 7:01 a.m. | Nov 18, 9:01 a.m. |
| "Held-back" sites and channels | Nov 19, 6:01 a.m. | Nov 19, 12:01 a.m. | Nov 19, 2:01 a.m. |
The conversion is ours and only as good as the times in the post. There are signs of sloppy transcription, too: Tech Insider noticed that 12:01 p.m. CET is 6:01 a.m. in New York, not 6:00 as written. eGamers, meanwhile, gave the held-back time as "6:01 PM CET," which doesn't square with the "12:01 AM EST" in the same sentence — the correct conversion is 6:01 a.m. That's why the table uses the version that works in both zones.
The codes: already out, or never coming?
This is where the stories clash, and the timeline helps.
May. Brazilian journalist Pedro Henrique Lutti Lippe said on the X do Controle podcast that Rockstar wouldn't send codes to anyone. Selected critics would be brought to a closed location, play for several days under supervision and write their reviews on site. As GTA Boom quoted him: "Nobody is going to get the key to this game."
October 14. Notebookcheck reported that Insider Gaming had published that reviews would go up before launch — and that the piece was later deleted, with no explanation. Around the same time, insider NateTheHate said on ResetEra that copies would reach the press before the end of October.
October 23. BlackBate said digital PS5 and Xbox codes hadn't gone out yet, and that their sources pointed to the week of October 26 or early November. BlackBate also doubted there would be hands-on previews.
October 26. NateTheHate returned to the subject on X: Rockstar had reportedly started sending codes, with the embargo on November 18, according to VGTimes.
October 28. Conrad talks about watermarks — which, if true, only makes sense if copies are running outside Rockstar.
Our read: the May report and the October ones can't both be fully right, but they don't entirely cancel out either. A plan for closed sessions could have given way to protected codes over five months. Taken together, the most recent sources describe watermarked codes. None of the sources we read explains the change.
The watermark, up close
As Conrad described it and VGTimes laid out, each copy would carry a unique mark with the critic's name and outlet, showing up in more than one spot on screen at once and moving around. The logic is simple: if footage leaks, the mark gives away where it came from. Conrad added that a leaker could lose access to future Rockstar releases — something the company hasn't confirmed either.
Tom Henderson of Insider Gaming noted that watermarking review copies is standard publisher practice, especially when the game is sent to critics' homes. What's new, if anything, is the scale of the precautions. And the backdrop explains it: October saw a run of leaked videos attributed to the hacker Cyberleek, logged by VGTimes.
Rockstar has done this before
One day ahead is the house standard. The Red Dead Redemption 2 embargo lifted at 4:01 a.m. Pacific on October 25, 2018, the eve of its October 26 launch, as ComicBook reported from Metacritic's announcement. For GTA V, according to GTA Intel, reviews went up on September 16, 2013, a day before the game hit stores. Both ended up at 97 on Metacritic.
If BlackBate is right, GTA 6 critics will get two to three weeks with the game before publishing. eGamers calls that short by Rockstar's standards for a game of this size.
What we don't know
- Whether November 18 is real. No official statement; Rockstar hasn't mentioned an embargo.
- Who waits until the 19th. The post says "some sites or YouTube channels," with no names and no reason.
- Whether Brazilian outlets are in the first wave. None of the sources we read mentions any.
- Whether the online mode will be reviewed. None of the reports addresses it.
In practical terms, it's a calendar question: if all of this holds, the morning of November 18 is when the first scores land — a day before anyone can play.