File number: DBA26/036; DBA26/037

Decision of: KALICHAVA SLDB

Date of decision: 20 August 2026

The Decisions Body decides that:

  1. 1.

    DBA26/036 and DBA26/037 be decided together.

  2. 2.

    No person must spoil any of the contents of Grand Theft Auto VI: An Extended Look to any member of the Decisions Body.

  3. 3.

    No person must spoil any story details of Grand Theft Auto VI to any member of the Decisions Body.

  4. 4.

    Member of the Decisions Body means decision-makers and staff include any person who may be appointed to the Decisions Body after the date of the making of these decisions.

  5. 5.

    Decision 2 expires at 2:00 pm AEST on 28 August 2026.

  6. 6.

    Decision 3 operates until:

    1. 1.

      a further decision by the Decisions Body to cancel it or

    2. 2.

      at 12:00 am, 1 January 2027;

Whichever is earliest.

Catchwords:

Video games—Grand Theft Auto VI—Preview premiering on a streaming service—Prevention of spoilers.

Video games—Grand Theft Auto VI—Leaks—Videos of gameplay leaked before release—Prevention of spoilers—Story spoilers.

Number of paragraphs: 9

Note: This copy of the Decisions Body’s reasons for decision may be subject to review to remedy typographical or grammatical errors.

Skyline of Miami.

Miami - Skyline from Harbor by P. Hughes, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons. This image depicts subject matter related to this decision and does not form part of the reasons for decision.

REASONS FOR DECISION

KALICHAVA SLDB

An extended look

1 At 10:00 pm, Rockstar Games announced that an extended look at Grand Theft Auto VI will premiere on Netflix at 5:00 am, 28 August 20261 and on Rockstar Games’ website and YouTube at 11:00 am on the same day2.

2 I will make the reasonable assumption that Netflix has paid Rockstar Games a large amount of money even for just a six-hour exclusivity window, especially for one of the largest video game launches of the decade. I am not a fan of a timed exclusive trailer on a platform that requires a subscription even if it is just a quarter of a day. I can see the slippery slope argument applying here. Not in this case but generally, exclusivity could turn from six hours to 12 hours to one day to one week to one month to a trailer being a permanent exclusive of a certain paid platform. The is something that must not happen. To view the Grand Theft Auto VI: An Extended Look at the best possible quality, which is 4K, would require the Netflix premium subscription of which costs AU$28.99 a month3! I for one will not pay such an exorbitant price to view something that I can wait six hours for. I will also not encourage the timed exclusivity of media onto a paid platform.

3 There is no doubt that once Grand Theft Auto VI: An Extended Look premieres on Netflix, people will be ripping it and uploading it onto every possible video sharing platform. Of course, that would violate copyright law as those would be unauthorised re-publications (not legal advice). So, I will avoid those and encourage others to avoid the unauthorised re-uploads and to view Grand Theft Auto VI: An Extended Look only through official channels.

4 You may have noticed the times I stated at [1]. Those are in the Australian Eastern Standard time zone. The Netflix premiere will happen when I am asleep. The launch of Grand Theft Auto VI: An Extended Look will happen when I am at my usual day job and it just so happens that I have a meeting scheduled precisely at 11:00 am on 28 August.

The leaks

5 During the writing of this decision, a group who I will not name to not give them free publicity leaked five gameplay videos of Grand Theft Auto VI. In brief terms the leaks are as follows.

  • A gameplay video of Jason playing basketball at his house.

  • A gameplay video of Jason crashing into a Boxville delivery van and fighting the driver.

  • A gameplay video of Jason driving into an industrial area, fighting a few security guards, and stealing a truck.

  • A gameplay video of Jason stealing a police motorcycle, crashing it into a river, then fighting some homeless people.

  • A gameplay video of Jason flying a plane and shooting the name of the national emblem of Wales into the side of a building.

6 The scope of how much Grand Theft Auto VI has leaked is not confirmed at the time of writing.

7 The group claims to be doing this to protest pre-orders for digital games and preservation of single-player parts of games. The leaks themselves were watermarked with the group’s mascot, links to their websites, and a call to action to buy their cryptocurrency. That would indicate that gamers’ rights are not the group’s only motivation. The group has charged cryptocurrency to vote on which video clips would be leaked next with one person saying the same price as Grand Theft Auto VI itself to participate in the poll4.

8 The application about the leaks is separate to the application about Grand Theft Auto VI: An Extended Look but I have combined them into one decision to save time.

Conclusion

9 To not be spoiled and to hold those accountable if a person does spoil Grand Theft Auto VI, I will make the following decisions:

  1. 1.

    DBA26/036 and DBA26/037 be decided together.

  2. 2.

    No person must spoil any of the contents of Grand Theft Auto VI: An Extended Look to any member of the Decisions Body.

  3. 3.

    No person must spoil any story details of Grand Theft Auto VI to any member of the Decisions Body.

  4. 4.

    Member of the Decisions Body means decision-makers and staff include any person who may be appointed to the Decisions Body after the date of the making of these decisions.

  5. 5.

    Decision 2 expires at 2:00 pm AEST on 28 August 2026.

  6. 6.

    Decision 3 operates until:

    1. 1.

      a further decision by the Decisions Body to cancel it or

    2. 2.

      at 12:00 am, 1 January 2027;

Whichever is earliest.

I certify that the preceding nine (9) numbered paragraphs are a true copy of the reasons for decision of A Kalichava, Shoulder Left of the Decisions Body.

Signature:

Date: 20 August 2026