A pre-release build of Grand Theft Auto Vice City leaked online over the weekend on the website GTA Forums, giving players a chance to take a look at an earlier version of Rockstar's classic open-world game.
The build of the game was posted on the forum by the user IAmNotToniCipriani and was originally dumped by an individual they are calling "johndoe2". The news was then later shared on Twitter/X by the user Vadim M., alerting more people to the discovery.
This prototype is dated October 2nd, 2002, but, according to the website Hidden Palace, was actually compiled on October 1st, putting it just 28 days before the game's official release on PS2. This led some to initially suspect that there wouldn't be that many changes from the retail version, but despite that, there actually does seem to be some considerable differences from the version that ended up on store shelves.
Players, for instance, have so far uncovered an unlockable debug menu (activated by pressing L1, R1, L3, R3), early vehicle and character models, and a different version of the intro featuring an alternative mix of the main theme music. This is alongside various other changes that the community is currently documenting.
Fans on the forum are speculating that the build could be a press version distributed to outlets like Gamespot ahead of the game's release, which could likely explain why it is so different from the retail build, despite having been created so close to the launch date.