‘Thank You All’: Rockstar Games Looks to Have Granted a Terminally Ill Fan’s Wish to Play GTA 6

Rockstar Games has reportedly granted the wish of a terminally-ill fan whose family member asked if they could play Grand Theft Auto 6 ahead of its November launch date.

The unnamed fan was contacted by Rockstar after a LinkedIn post from a relation blew up and apparently caught the attention of Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick (thanks, Insider Gaming).

Anthony Armstrong, a developer at Ubisoft Toronto, originally made the plea on behalf of his family member last month, calling for help from any connections or games industry colleagues in getting the message out.

“A member of my family who has been battling cancer for years just recently got the worst possible news, he was given 6-12 months to live,” Armstrong wrote. “The reason I’m reaching out is that they are a huge GTA fan and, with this latest updates [sic], he may not be around long enough to actually get to see GTA6 launch, best case scenario he will be leaving us the same month it does.

“He currently lives only a stones throw from [Rockstar’s] Oakville studio, so its my hope that one of you may be able to set up an exclusive playtest, so he can have a chance to experience the game, before passing.”

Armstrong later updated his post several times — firstly to confirm it had caught Zelnick’s attention, and then lastly to state that Rockstar Games had been in contact with “great news.”

“That’s all I can really say,” Armstrong concluded, “but thank you from the bottom of my heart.”

Grand Theft Auto 6 is currently set for launch on November 19, following repeated delays. When announcing the latest change in arrival, Take-Two said it was “confident” the game would arrive then as a more polished experience.

Earlier today, emergency services were called to GTA 6 developer Rockstar North, following a boiler room incident that sparked the need for numerous fire crews. Rockstar has since played down the incident, and confirmed the office is now open again.

Tom Phillips is IGN’s News Editor. You can reach Tom at tom_phillips@ign.com or find him on Bluesky @tomphillipseg.bsky.social