A newly circulated GTA VI day-night cycle leak suggests Rockstar Games may be planning a considerably slower passage of time for its next open-world title. Based on the footage, a full in-game day could take roughly 144 real-world minutes – three times as long as the cycle used in GTA V.

The estimate comes from an in-game clock briefly visible in unauthorized footage circulating online. The time appears to move from 7:29 to 7:30 after approximately six real-world seconds. If that rate remains consistent throughout the game, one in-game hour would take around six minutes and a full 24-hour cycle would last 144 minutes.

Rockstar has not confirmed that figure, making the GTA VI day-night cycle calculation speculative for now. The leaked footage also appears to come from an unfinished build, meaning development settings, mission-specific conditions or later design changes could result in a different time scale in the final release.

Even so, the potential change is notable when compared with previous Grand Theft Auto games.

A complete day in GTA V lasts approximately 48 real-world minutes. Earlier entries in the series used even faster clocks, with some games advancing by an in-game minute for roughly every second of real time.

Moving to 144 minutes would therefore represent a major shift in pacing rather than a minor adjustment.

A slower clock could allow Vice City and the wider state of Leonida to remain in distinct daytime and nighttime states for much longer. Rockstar’s official material has already emphasized a diverse world ranging from crowded urban streets and nightlife venues to highways, beaches and wetlands, with different locations populated by large numbers of NPCs.

Longer periods of daylight and darkness could give the studio more room to tie traffic, pedestrian behavior, businesses, missions or random events to specific times of day.

None of those possibilities have been confirmed, however, and a development build should not be treated as a final representation of how GTA VI will work at launch.

The footage also appears to reference Lucia

The leaked sequence reportedly features Jason, one of GTA VI’s two protagonists, around a gas station before moving through several interactions involving NPCs, vehicles and traffic.

One detail attracted particular attention: an objective telling the player to return to Lucia.

If the footage is authentic and the objective survives into the final game, it offers another small indication of how closely Rockstar may connect its two protagonists during missions.

Jason and Lucia are at the center of GTA VI’s officially revealed story. Rockstar says an easy score going wrong leaves the pair caught in a wider criminal conspiracy across Leonida, forcing them to depend on each other to survive.

GTA V already built its campaign around multiple playable protagonists, but Rockstar has not yet fully explained how character switching, shared missions or progression between Jason and Lucia will operate in GTA VI.

Other elements visible in the leaked material – including traffic behavior, NPC interactions and what may be an unfinished death screen – should similarly be treated with caution. Systems and presentation can change considerably between internal builds and the version eventually shipped to players.

Rockstar’s next official GTA VI showcase is days away

Players will not have to rely exclusively on leaks for much longer.

Rockstar is preparing an extended look at GTA VI on August 27, which will premiere through Netflix at 3 PM ET. The presentation is expected to provide a more detailed look at the game ahead of its release later this year.

Whether Rockstar will discuss the passage of time or the day-night system remains unknown, but the showcase should offer a much more reliable indication of how the final game’s open world is structured.

Grand Theft Auto VI is scheduled to launch on November 19, 2026 for PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S. Pre-orders are already available, while Rockstar has yet to officially announce a PC version.

Until Rockstar provides confirmation, the reported 144-minute GTA VI day-night cycle remains an inference from leaked development footage rather than an established feature. If it does make it into the final game, however, one day in Leonida would take around three times longer to pass than it does in GTA V – a change that could significantly affect the rhythm of exploring Vice City.