A Grand Theft Auto fan has turned a £5 car boot sale purchase into the sort of discovery that keeps forum threads alive for years and, presumably, makes everyone else check the electronics tables a little more closely.
The buyer, posting as Janmatant on GTA Forums, said they picked up an Xbox development kit in Edinburgh for about $6. The console still had a Rockstar North label attached, which strongly suggests it came from the studio.
What was on the machine
Screenshots shared on the forum show the kit’s contents, including what users describe as a 118GB test build of Grand Theft Auto IV.
Some of the data had already been wiped, but community members digging through the remaining files were still able to recover unused and unfinished assets. Those findings have since been circulated among the GTA fan community.
The discovery connects back to a GTA Forums thread first started in 2014, when fans began a long-running effort to track down beta material and early versions of GTA 4. This latest find has given that hobby a fresh burst of attention, because apparently nothing gets people moving like an old dev kit with secrets inside.
The seller says it is up for grabs
Despite the interest, Janmatant later said they intended to sell the development kit.
"Originally I listed it on eBay for 800 Buy It Now or auction starting at 400, but it sold very quickly on the Buy It Now, and I asked to relist it on auction," they said. "Unfortunately, eBay took the auction down. I don’t know if I’ll be able to get above or close to the original 800 but I’m open to offers," they added.
So far, that is where the story stands: a cheap flea market find, a sizeable slice of GTA IV history, and a seller trying to turn a £5 gamble into something rather more substantial.
Rockstar’s next mainline entry in the series, GTA 6, is currently scheduled for release on November 19, 2026.
