The gaming world is in an absolute uproar this weekend after the first-ever player rating for Grand Theft Auto VI mysteriously appeared on the popular tracking site HowLongToBeat. In a shocking development just days after Take-Two Interactive confirmed the game's final release date, a solitary user profile has logged playtime and awarded the highly anticipated title a polarizing 73% approval rating. With the official launch still set for November 19, 2026, this unexpected "early review" has triggered a firestorm of speculation, concern, and intense debate across social media platforms regarding the state of Rockstar Games' next masterpiece.

The "73%" Mystery: Glitch, Dev, or Early Access?

The controversy began late Friday when eagle-eyed fans noticed a single, active entry on the GTA VI page of HowLongToBeat. While the site typically aggregates thousands of user scores to determine a game's reception, this lone data point stood out like a sore thumb: a 73% rating. For a franchise known for defining generations and earning near-perfect scores, a "C-grade" rating—even from a single user—has rattled the community.

Screenshots of the listing circulated instantly on Reddit and X (formerly Twitter), leading to three prevailing theories about the reviewer's identity:

  • The "Terminally Ill Fan" Theory: The most poignant and widely accepted theory is that the reviewer is a fan granted early access under the Make-A-Wish Foundation or a similar private arrangement. Rockstar Games has a history of such compassionate gestures. If true, the 73% score is even more baffling—would a superfan given such a rare opportunity rate it so critically? Or does it reflect an honest assessment of an unfinished build?
  • The Rogue Developer: Another possibility is that a Rockstar North quality assurance tester or developer accidentally (or intentionally) synced their internal playtest data to their public profile.
  • The System Glitch: Skeptics argue this could simply be a database error or a sophisticated troll who managed to bypass the site's verification systems.

Why a 73% Score is Causing Panic

Under normal circumstances, a 73% score for a video game is respectable. However, this is Grand Theft Auto VI—arguably the most hyped entertainment product of the decade. Fans have waited over 12 years since GTA V, enduring multiple delays from the original 2025 window to the current November 2026 date. The expectation is nothing short of perfection.

The debate has split the fanbase into two camps. One side argues that a 73% rating for a game that is still nine months from launch is actually promising. "If an unfinished, buggy beta build is already a 7/10, imagine the final polish," one Reddit user noted. The opposing side fears that the game might be suffering from core design issues that polish alone cannot fix, citing the multiple delays as evidence of development hell.

The "Unfinished" Argument

It is crucial to remember that if this GTA 6 player rating is legitimate, the user is likely playing a version of the game that lacks final textures, lighting, and optimization. Playing a game in a debug environment often means dealing with crashes, missing assets, and broken physics—factors that would naturally drag down a user score, regardless of the story's quality.

Context: The Road to November 2026

This leak comes at a sensitive time for Rockstar Games. Just earlier this week, parent company Take-Two Interactive held its Q3 earnings call, where CEO Strauss Zelnick definitively confirmed the November 19, 2026 release date, finally putting to rest rumors of a delay into 2027. Zelnick also squashed speculation about a digital-only launch, confirming that physical discs will be available day one.

The company also teased that the "full-scale marketing machine" will kick off this summer. With official trailers likely months away, this leaked HowLongToBeat GTA VI rating is currently the only new "info" starving fans have to consume, amplifying its impact significantly.

What This Means for the Launch

Ultimately, a single anonymous rating on a tracking site should be taken with a massive grain of salt. Whether it's a GTA 6 leak from a dev, a touching gesture for a sick fan, or a simple database error, it doesn't reflect the final quality of the product that will hit shelves in November.

However, the reaction proves one thing: the world is watching Rockstar's every move. If a random 73% score can dominate the news cycle for days, the actual launch is going to be an event unlike anything the industry has ever seen. For now, fans will have to wait for the summer marketing blitz to see if the game truly lives up to the "10/10" legacy of its predecessors.