L.A. Noire 2 Rumor: Rockstar’s Next Game After GTA 6?

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• A 2023 anonymous 4chan leak resurfaced on GTAForums this week, claiming Rockstar’s next game after GTA 6 is an L.A. Noire sequel set in San Francisco.
• The unverified post points to a Zodiac Killer storyline, a possible 2030 release, and a big evolution of the original’s facial-scanning tech.
• Rockstar has confirmed nothing — but Take-Two’s CEO said this year the company is “looking at doing something in the future with all of our intellectual property.”

GTA 6 is 52 days from launch, but the rumour mill is already asking what’s next. This morning, outlets from GameCentral to UNILAD Gaming picked up a resurfaced leak claiming Rockstar’s next major project after GTA VI is a sequel to 2011’s detective classic L.A. Noire — set in San Francisco and built around the unsolved Zodiac Killer case. It’s unverified, the source is anonymous, and Rockstar has said nothing. Here’s what the leak actually says, where it came from, and how seriously you should take it.

https://www.instagram.com/p/Dd00B6nF4J3/

What the Leak Claims

• Setting: San Francisco, away from the original’s 1947 Los Angeles.
• Story: The Zodiac Killer — the unidentified Bay Area murderer from 1968–1969, one of America’s most famous unsolved cases.
• Timing: Reportedly in “very early stages” in 2023, pointing to a release around 2030, roughly four years after GTA 6.
• Technology: An evolved MotionScan — the facial-capture tech behind the original’s interrogations — pushed much further, with an alleged goal of the “best looking game ever made.”

Every point is secondhand information from an anonymous source. Treat it all as rumour, not reveal.

Where the Rumor Came From

This isn’t a new leak — it’s an old one that caught fire again. Per Tech4Gamers and TwistedVoxel, the claims came from an anonymous 4chan user in December 2023, and resurfaced this week when GTAForums member Shahanshah highlighted the post. From there it spread across Reddit, gaming social pages and the press within hours. Old leaks resurfacing at peak hype is a pattern — the question isn’t whether the post exists, but whether it was ever right about anything.

Why Some Fans Take the Leaker Seriously

The reason this rumour has legs is the poster’s claimed GTA 6 track record. According to the reporting, the same anonymous user described GTA 6’s relationship and criminal profiling systems back in 2023 — before they were public — and claimed the game once planned four protagonists. That last detail drew fresh attention after Rockstar North boss Rob Nelson confirmed in recent previews that the team deliberately narrowed the game to Jason and Lucia rather than “diluting the amount of player time” across more characters. Fans read that as corroboration.

It’s the strongest argument this rumour has — but it isn’t proof. Leakers with real fragments still get plenty wrong, and three years is a long time in game development, where projects get cancelled, rebooted and shelved constantly.

What Rockstar and Take-Two Have Actually Said

Here is the confirmed record, and it’s short. Earlier this year, Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick was asked directly about a new L.A. Noire. His answer, as reported by GameCentral:

“You never know. The answer broadly is we’re looking at doing something in the future with all of our intellectual property, but nothing to announce.”

That’s it. No confirmation, no project name, no window. Zelnick’s answer applies to every dormant Rockstar franchise — Bully, Max Payne, Midnight Club — and commits to nothing for L.A. Noire specifically. Rockstar itself has said nothing at all.

Why a Zodiac Killer Story Would Fit L.A. Noire

Put the credibility questions aside, because the concept itself is strong. The original’s defining feature was its interrogation system: MotionScan captured actors’ faces in fine detail, and players read suspects’ expressions to spot lies. A Zodiac Killer investigation — taunting letters to the press, ciphers, a killer never caught — is built for that loop: witnesses who remember details differently, suspects who lie well, and a case file that never closes. A late-1960s San Francisco, the Summer of Love curdling into the Zodiac era, gives Rockstar the same period-piece canvas as 1947 Los Angeles with a darker cultural backdrop.

Reasons to Stay Skeptical

• It’s a 2023 post. “Very early stages” three years ago may mean a project that no longer exists. Anonymous 4chan posts get rediscovered and embellished every hype cycle.
• The original developer is gone. Team Bondi closed shortly after the 2011 release, so any sequel would be built by a different team — and former writer Daniel McMahon has already described a cancelled L.A. Noire follow-up, the 1936 Shanghai-set Whore of the Orient, that never shipped. Rockstar has killed these projects before.
• The track record is selective. The leaker’s GTA 6 claims include details that changed during development (the four-protagonist plan was scrapped), so old accuracy doesn’t guarantee the L.A. Noire claims survived.
• Zelnick’s quote is boilerplate. “Doing something with all of our IP” is what executives say about every dormant franchise. It commits to nothing.

What This Means

Realistically, nothing changes today. Rockstar’s entire machine is pointed at November 19, 2026, and it historically doesn’t discuss what’s next until the current game is out. If a sequel exists in any form, we’d hear about it no earlier than 2027–2028, with a launch no sooner than 2030. Still, the rumour is a useful window into what fans want from post-GTA-6 Rockstar — and the response has been overwhelmingly positive. A smaller, story-driven detective game as a palate cleanser after the biggest open world ever made? That’s a pitch with real appeal, whether or not this leak is real.

Our Verdict

File this under “intriguing but unverified.” The leaker’s apparent GTA 6 track record makes this more interesting than the average 4chan post, and Zelnick’s quote keeps the door theoretically open — but a three-year-old anonymous claim, a shuttered original developer, and zero official confirmation add up to a rumour to enjoy without believing. We’ll update this story if Rockstar or Take-Two says anything concrete.

FAQ

Is L.A. Noire 2 officially confirmed?
No. As of September 28, 2026, Rockstar has not announced or acknowledged a sequel. The rumour traces to an anonymous 2023 post that resurfaced on GTAForums.

What would it be about, per the rumour?
A move from 1940s Los Angeles to San Francisco, with a story centered on the unsolved Zodiac Killer case of 1968–1969.

When would it release?
Around 2030 per the leak — roughly four years after GTA 6’s November 19, 2026 launch. That figure comes only from the leak.

SOURCES

• UNILAD Gaming — “LA NOIRE SEQUEL RUMORED TO BE ROCKSTAR’S NEXT PROJECT AFTER GTA VI” (Instagram, Sept 28, 2026)
• GameCentral via FirstGora — “L.A. Noire 2 is Rockstar’s next game after GTA 6 claims source”
• Tech4Gamers — “Rockstar Games Will Reportedly Develop A La Noire Sequel After GTA 6”
• TwistedVoxel — “LA Noire Sequel Is Allegedly Set In San Francisco, Story Based On The Zodiac Killer Case”
• GameRiv — “L.A. Noire Sequel Rumored After GTA 6 With Zodiac Killer Story”
• TrendzBetaGames — “LA Noire 2 Could Be Rockstar’s Next Major Game After GTA 6”
• Tech Insider — “LA Noire 2: Rockstar’s Next Game After GTA 6”