LA Noire 2 Rumors Explode: What's Really Going On?

Did you wake up this weekend to everyone suddenly talking about LA Noire 2? You're not alone. A old GTA 6 leak from 2023 got dug up by eagle-eyed fans, and buried inside it was a wild claim: Rockstar's next game after GTA 6 is a sequel to LA Noire, set in San Francisco and centered on the Zodiac Killer. That's a lot to unpack, so let's break it down.

First, the leak itself. It originated on 4Chan and has since been partially confirmed. For example, it said GTA 6 would have four protagonists before settling on two, which Rockstar North co-studio head Rob Nelson recently confirmed. The post also mentioned a relationship mechanic that turned out to be real. So yeah, parts of this leak have legs. But that doesn't mean everything in it is true.

Now, the LA Noire 2 part. The original LA Noire was developed by Team Bondi, led by Brendan McNamara, with Rockstar publishing. After the game launched, Team Bondi dissolved, and McNamara went on to found new studios. One of them, Video Games Deluxe, helped port LA Noire to VR. In 2025, Rockstar acquired that studio and renamed it Rockstar Australia. Many of its staff are ex-LA Noire creatives, including McNamara. That's a pretty interesting piece of the puzzle.

Rockstar has also shown love to the LA Noire IP over the years. It was one of the first Rockstar games ported to Xbox One and PS4, and a VR version followed. Then in April 2026, Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick was asked about LA Noire's future. He said the door is open for Rockstar to revisit any of its IP, as long as there's a passionate team. "There's nothing to announce on LA Noire specifically," he said, "but with regard to our legacy IP, the teams are always looking at what we have." That's not a confirmation, but it's not a no either.

Back in 2012, Rockstar even teased that a sequel wasn't off the table. In a fan Q&A, they said, "Don't count out the possibility of a new game in the LA Noire franchise in the future." They added that they don't rush sequels but don't rule them out either, pointing to Max Payne and Red Dead as examples. So the interest has been there for over a decade.

The big question now is what Rockstar does after GTA 6. That game is expected to be the biggest entertainment launch ever, and the studio will likely support it with updates and online modes for years. Will that leave room for smaller, artistic projects like an LA Noire sequel? Or will the financial success give Rockstar the freedom to make more niche games? We already know they're publishing two Max Payne remakes developed by Remedy, so they're not abandoning non-GTA projects entirely.

For now, the LA Noire 2 rumor is just that: a rumor. But with Rockstar Australia full of LA Noire veterans and Take-Two keeping the door open, it's not crazy to hope. Would you play a Zodiac Killer-themed LA Noire sequel? Let us know in the comments!