Court Filings Reveal 32-Player GTA VI Online Mention — Rockstar Called It a “Closely Guarded Secret”
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11.09.2026 18:34
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2 min read
Court filings from a UK labor dispute between Rockstar Games and fired developers have revealed confidential details about Grand Theft Auto VI’s multiplayer mode. In legal documents, the studio explicitly referred to the “32-player online format” as one of its most closely guarded trade secrets, the leak of which led to employee terminations. However, taking these documents as an official confirmation of lobby capacity in the upcoming multiplayer would be premature.
Union Dispute and Secret Playtests
The labor dispute has been ongoing since 2025, with terminated developers alleging discrimination over union activities with the IWGB. Rockstar management, meanwhile, accuses former employees of gross non-disclosure agreement (NDA) violations and publishing confidential information in a third-party Discord channel.
As reported by GTA BOOM, updated hearing transcripts include testimony from Jennifer Kolbe, Rockstar’s head of publishing. The executive called the disclosure of information regarding the “online 32 player format” an extremely alarming incident, emphasizing that network architecture parameters are classified at the highest level.
This is not the first time the number 32 has appeared in legal proceedings. Back in early 2026, GamesRadar+ quoted internal messages from a developer who was complaining to colleagues about vacation schedules and casually mentioned spending a day running tests on a 32-player multiplayer session. Court filings confirmed that the studio fired staff without severance pay over such leaks.
Why 32 Players Is Not the Final Limit
Fans met the news with some disappointment, having expected server capacities to expand to 64 or 100 players given the increased power of current-generation consoles. However, the court documents describe only a working configuration for a test build.
The number 32 could refer to tick rate stability testing, specific match-based modes, or closed gunfights. By comparison, the base GTA Online on previous-gen servers has supported up to 30 active players plus two spectator slots for years.
On the official GTA VI website, multiplayer mode hasn’t even been presented yet, as the marketing campaign remains focused entirely on Jason and Lucia’s story arc. Before the game launches on November 19, 2026, for PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S, developers could completely rework the netcode, and the studio traditionally launches the online component some time after the single-player release.
