Rockstar responds to plea for a terminally ill 'huge GTA fan' to get his hands on the game early
After an impassioned online plea to help a terminally ill Grand Theft Auto 6 fan experience the upcoming game before its November 19 release, it seems as though Rockstar is helping to work something out.
The request came from Ubisoft developer Anthony Armstrong (according to Insider Gaming), who, in a now-deleted LinkedIn post, wrote: "To any of my connections at Rockstar Games and Rockstar Toronto, or anyone else that may be able to help. 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."
Ubisoft developer Anthony Armstrong reached out to Rockstar Games on LinkedIn about setting up a GTA 6 playtest for his family member who has been battling cancer for years and just given 6-12 months to live. Anthony says Take-Two’s CEO responded and received great news from… pic.twitter.com/cGfnKKxbIbJanuary 18, 2026
Armstrong said that the family member in question is "a huge GTA fan," adding that the terminal diagnosis means "he may not be around long enough to actually get to see GTA 6 launch, best case scenario he will be leaving us the same month it does."
He continued: "He currently lives only a stone's throw from the Oakville studio, so its [sic] 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."
It seems that someone at Rockstar took notice, as an update to the post read: "We spoke to them today and got great news. That's [sic] all I can really say, but thank you all from the bottom of my heart".
It's unclear whether Armstrong's family member is actually being given an opportunity to get hands-on with GTA 6 early—especially considering how tightly under wraps Rockstar is trying its darndest to keep everything right now—but at the very least, it appears that the developer is working something out for him. It's a silver lining out of an undoubtedly crappy situation for Armstrong's family.
Rockstar isn't the only developer in recent memory to extend this sort of generosity to fans going through a rough time. Last year, Gearbox flew out terminally ill "die- hard Borderlands fan" Caleb McAlpine to the studio for a tour and to play Borderlands 4 prior to its September 2025 release.