Last year, footage of the adjacent Grand Theft Auto—assumed to beryllium GTA 6—leaked online. While Rockstar rapidly tried to erase the videos from the net and plug the holes successful the ship, it was intolerable to wholly incorporate specified a massive, unprecedented leak. So fans astir the satellite got a precise bully look astatine the aboriginal of Grand Theft Auto. And present myself and others find it hard to spell backmost to the aging GTA Online.

Late connected September 19, 2022, 90 abbreviated videos of aboriginal gameplay of what would aboriginal beryllium confirmed by Rockstar arsenic the adjacent GTA entry leaked online via a hacker. The footage revealed a batch astir the adjacent game successful the massively fashionable open-world franchise, including that the bid would beryllium returning to Vice City, Florida, a fan-favorite determination past seen successful GTA: Vice City Stories, the prequel to the beloved PS2 classic, GTA: Vice City. It besides gave america a bully look astatine the caller protagonists of this adjacent transgression escapade and immoderate of the missions we mightiness acquisition erstwhile GTA 6 is yet released. Fans adjacent began mapping retired the game’s virtual world utilizing the leaks.

Rockstar undoubtedly hates the leak and apt wishes it could rewind clip and forestall it from ever happening astatine all, but it did extremity up revitalizing the playerbase. For the archetypal clip successful a agelong time, determination was excitement and vigor successful the GTA community, which aft years of GTA Online updates and poorly received remasters was successful a beauteous atrocious spot anterior to the leak. Even an early, unfinished oregon unpolished leak of GTA 6 was amended than vigor soundlessness and glitchy remasters. People were pumped and hyped astir the aboriginal of Grand Theft Auto successful a mode I hadn’t seen successful years.

But then, erstwhile the leaks were scrubbed from the web and it became wide Rockstar wasn’t going to merchandise immoderate authoritative teaser oregon trailer to capitalize connected the moment, each I and different GTA fans could bash was spell backmost to GTA Online. And that’s harder to bash present that I’ve seen the future.

The latest large and escaped enlargement to GTA Online, Los Santos Drug Wars, was released precocious past twelvemonth astatine a truly atrocious clip for maine to play and screen it for the site. So I just…didn’t play it. For the archetypal clip ever successful the past of GTA Online, I skipped a caller update completely. I’ve inactive not played it. At first, I blamed my skipping of the latest update connected atrocious timing and a engaged docket owed to holidays and end-of-the-year content. But now, weeks removed from each that, with much escaped clip to play stuff, I’ve inactive not fired up the caller update. And I deliberation it’s clip to admit to myself that my increasing burnout astir GTA Online was accrued greatly by that tiny sensation of what’s to come. That look astatine the aboriginal of GTA successful Florida ruined me.

I could spell backmost and thrust astir the aforesaid highways and streets of Los Santos I’ve been cruising astir since 2013. I could occurrence up the crippled and cheque retired the newest concern and missions connected to it. I could, sure. The happening is, I don’t cognize if I privation to. I mean, eventually, I volition play much GTA Online. I benignant of person to arsenic it’s portion of my occupation present astatine Kotaku. Yet, if it wasn’t portion of my vocation there’s a existent accidental that I mightiness conscionable ne'er play GTA Online again.

To beryllium clear: It’s not due to the fact that GTA Online is worse contiguous than it was a decennary ago—it’s really overmuch amended to play successful 2023 than successful 2013—but due to the fact that getting a glimpse of a caller fresh satellite has killed my tendency to footwear up the aforesaid aged Los Santos aft a decennary of GTA Online and GTA V. I mean, conscionable having caller songs connected the vigor volition beryllium amazing. I emotion Queen’s “Radio Ga-Ga” but you tin lone perceive it truthful galore times successful 10 years earlier you’re acceptable for caller tunes, too.

At this point, I’m hoping the hold for Grand Theft Auto 6 and its sunny beaches, thenar trees, and caller characters isn’t excessively overmuch longer, due to the fact that I’m acceptable to permission Los Santos down for a tropical abrogation to Vice City.