A gamer facing a terminal illness has reportedly been granted early access to Grand Theft Auto 6, a privilege coming a full 10 months before the game’s official release date.

The gamer, identified only as Cole, received a diagnosis of a terminal brain disease, with doctors estimating he has just six to twelve months left to live.

With the anticipated release of Grand Theft Auto 6 set for November, Cole faced the likelihood of missing the chance to experience the game, which fans have been eagerly awaiting for nearly a decade.

In an extraordinary gesture, Rockstar Games, the developer behind GTA 6, is said to have fulfilled Cole’s wish after a heartfelt appeal from a family member.

Anthony Armstrong, a developer working with Ubisoft in Toronto, took to LinkedIn to appeal to his contacts at Rockstar Games, hoping to secure a chance for his relative to enjoy the game before it was too late.

In a post that has since been removed, Armstrong explained, “The reason I am reaching out is because they are a huge GTA fan, and with the latest developments, he might not be around to see the official launch of GTA 6.”

‘Best case scenario he will be leaving us the same month it does… It’s 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.’

A terminally ill fan has been given the chance to play the hotly anticipated video game Grand Theft Auto 6 ahead of its official release 

In his post, Mr Armstrong said that Cole only lived ‘a stone’s throw’ from Rockstar’s development studio in Oakville, Canada.

‘It’s 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,’ he added.

While the game developer said he understood the ‘need for privacy’ at this stage, he offered to sign a non–disclosure agreement to cover any details of the upcoming game.

Now, after deleting the original message, Mr Armstrong has shared an update that suggests Cole’s wish has been granted.

In a post several weeks later, he wrote: ‘We spoke to them today and got great news. That’s all I can really say, but thank you all from the bottom of my heart.’

GTA 6 is one of the most hotly anticipated video games of all time, with fans having now spent years waiting to play it.

Since the release of Grand Theft Auto 5 in 2013, fans have avidly speculated over when the sequel might arrive.

With development having started ‘in earnest’ during 2020, according to Rockstar Games’ financial reports, the first official announcement didn’t arrive until 2023.

A family member posted on LinkedIn, imploring anyone at GTA 6 (pictured) developer Rockstar Games to help grant their dying wish. In an update, he said that he had received ‘great news’

GTA 6 has been in development for at least six years, with many fans joking that they might never see the release of this long–awaited sequel 

Rockstar Games released the first trailer for GTA VI in December 2023 after clips of the game were leaked online.

The release date had originally scheduled for 2025, but this has now been pushed back over a year to November 19, 2026.

Rockstar Games’ development process has now taken so long that the arrival of GTA 6 has become a meme among gamers, with many joking that they might not ever get to see the release.

This is not the first time that Rockstar Games has allowed a terminally ill fan to play one of their games ahead of the official release.

In 2018, a man from the Netherlands, diagnosed with terminal neurofibromatosis type 2, was given the chance to play Red Dead Redemption 2 several weeks before it came out.

After the man’s father reached out to the game’s developers, two Rockstar Games Employees reportedly came to his house with a private demo of the Western–themed action game. 

The young man was allowed to play the game for a full afternoon before the employees left, taking the demo with them. 

The Daily Mail has approached Rockstar Games for comment.