For years, we've seen people go to extreme lengths to get updates on Grand Theft Auto 6. Usually, that takes the form of overanalysing everything Rockstar puts out for clues, but it has also included Rockstar getting hacked and suffering leaks.

Now, there's a new meta: loitering outside of Rockstar North and collecting evidence to try to determine the developers' moods. At least, this method has allegedly been pioneered by one GTA 6 fanatic, who claims to be monitoring Rockstar's decibel level to look out for volume spikes, which they assume means an update on the next GTA 6 trailer.

We already covered that, but since then, this individual has upped the ante. In a new Reddit post, user Then-Pomegranate-625 says they've now resorted to counting the number of cigarettes outside of the building to determine how stressed the developers are, which they believe correlates with our chances of getting news on the next trailer. They also claim to be analysing the footprints near the building, to try and figure out who is coming and going - and how high up these people are.

That Person Claiming To Be Looking For Clues At Rockstar North Is Taking It Even Further

"I’ve started counting cigarettes that are left outside the HQ, which to me is an even better solution to tracking stress - better than coffees consumed," Then-Pomegranate-625 says. "The average [amount of] cigarettes for a consumer sits around 15, but today I counted 71 cigarettes over 19 hours. With 11 cars present, and an average of 2/10 people being smokers, this is an insane amount of cigarettes present around the HQ.

"Even if we assumed 3/10 were smokers (highly unlikely), that would be 45 cigarettes on average meaning devs are smoking almost twice the amount. Stress levels are clearly high."

Now, even if we assume this is true, and the user actually is present at Rockstar and is counting cigarettes, there are a few issues here. For starters, I'm unsure how they can actually get an accurate reading on the cigarettes, since some would presumably stub them out and put them in a bin, so they wouldn't all be on the floor. And even if they are on the floor, who can say when they got there? That's not even getting into the possibility of game development potentially attracting more casual smokers - or even fewer smokers, so it's just one guy smoking like a chimney. Really, we'd need more cigarette data over time to compare this to.

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Oh, but it doesn't end there. "I also counted the types of shoes on the individuals entering, a couple I didn’t recognise, but a couple Hugo Boss and RM Williams stand out - signals executive presence if you ask me," they say. "I am confident to predict we will see trailer 3 this coming week."

There is, of course, also the possibility that all of this is being made up. In which case, we can only applaud the creativity. I almost hope it is, for the sake of the workers. I can't imagine it feels great to look out of your window and see someone counting your used cigarettes.

Grand Theft Auto 6 Like Follow Followed Action Adventure Systems OpenCritic Reviews Released November 19, 2026 ESRB Rating Pending - Likely Mature 17+ Developer(s) Rockstar Games Publisher(s) Rockstar Games 8 Images Close
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