Preparations for GTA 6? Rockstar cloaking IPs of GTA Online players could be a sign

While the Grand Theft Auto community is waiting for GTA 6’s release, GTA Online is getting some changes in the background. Rockstar Games recently rolled out a new feature that cloaks your IP addresses in the multiplayer game. Grand Theft Auto Online has suffered various cybersecurity-related issues in the past. With the new feature, it seems like the studio is also preparing to make the next iteration safe and secure.

More details are discussed below.

Rockstar could be preparing for a secure GTA 6 experience with the recent GTA Online IP cloaking update

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On July 17, 2025, Rockstar Games silently made the IP addresses of GTA Online players private. Now, both your Public and Private IP addresses are hidden by default. The feature was rolled out after Rockstar shut down the Social Club website on July 16, 2025.

There have been many instances in the past where hackers and modders were able to exploit players' GTA Online experience and get access to their IP addresses. The latter is a serious security concern, as one can easily access personal details with the IP address.

However, the new security update has made the current multiplayer game safer.

Also read: GTA 6: 5 bold predictions from industry analysts

The recent update also foreshadows Rockstar Games’ plans for the upcoming game. While there are no official statements yet, we can assume the security feature might be included in GTA 6 as well.

Take-Two Interactive and Rockstar Games are trying their best to make the GTA 6 gameplay experience as refined as possible. They even delayed the game till May 2026 so that the developer could iron out the anomalies. If the upcoming game contains the same issues as GTA Online, it would be a significant blunder from both companies.

We can presume that the gaming studio is testing the waters for GTA 6 in the current multiplayer game. Multiple features from the upcoming gameplay have been backported into the 2013 title. The cloaking of GTA Online IPs could also be a part of the process.

Also read: Will GTA 6 make $7 billion in two months? Experts think so

It is worth noting that Rockstar Games added the BattlEye anti-cheat to Grand Theft Auto Online in September 2024. This significantly improved the security of the multiplayer game by reducing the number of hackers and modders on the PC version.

The feature was added nine years after the game’s release on the platform. That, combined with the removal of the Social Club website and hiding IP addresses, could potentially hint at Rockstar’s plans for GTA 6.

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About the author

Mridul completed his post-graduation in Mass Communication, Journalism, and Media Studies. His career as a journalist began at Sportskeeda, and he has been associated with the Esports & Gaming division for over 1.5 years. He has produced 1600+ articles on Grand Theft Auto, his favorite gaming franchise of all time.

Mridul writes detailed and well-researched articles, relying solely on official sources and reputable insiders for credible information. His immense love for the GTA series shines through in his work, which resonates with readers, with five of his articles having crossed the 100,000 reads mark each. Overall, his reads count stands at close to 8 million.

GTA: Vice City served as Mridul's introduction to Rockstar Games, and he has dedicatedly made his way through the publisher's catalog since then. If given a chance, he would love to drop into the world of Bully and relive his school days. However, he would like to recommend Grand Theft Auto 4 to beginners due to the depth of its narrative and in-game mechanics.

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Edited by Abhishek Manikandan