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‘Manhunt 3’ Leak Exposed As Fake By ‘GTA Online News’

By Devina Belle
Published on: 01:37 PST, Mar 6, 2018

Talk of Rockstar’s famous survival horror game Manhunt was revived recently. A proposed leak of Manhunt 3 was spotted on an Austrian website, leading many to believe that Rockstar would finally release the third installment to the stealth horror series. Unfortunately, the tiny glimmer of hope was immediately squashed by GTA Online News.

According to Game Rant, GameShop.at — an Austrian online game retailer — posted a listing for Manhunt 3. Based on the post, the third installment would be released for the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. GameShop’s post also claimed that the game would be entirely uncensored. The supposed leak undoubtedly excited long-time Manhunt fans.

Unfortunately, the excitement was short-lived. Shortly after news broke about the proposed leak, two news sites stepped forward to reveal the truth. GTA Online News announced via Twitter that the cover art used by GameShop for the post was made by a fan two years ago.

Comparing the prior Manhunt covers and the one seen on GameShop’s post, it is evident that there is a stark difference between Rockstar’s official Manhunt titles and the fake leak’s cover art. The official titles’ covers are more refined and paid homage to the games’ storylines. Meanwhile, the cover art seen on the leaked Manhunt 3 title depicted general images of blood and gore. Needless to say, the truth about the cover art hurt the credibility of the leak.

Another site offered further evidence that the Manhunt 3 leak was indeed fake. Critical Hit Google translated the description of the title GameShop provided for the game. After the translation, it was evident that the plot described in the post was the same storyline of the original Manhunt.

Where Rockstar Stands With Manhunt 3

Fans of the Manhunt series want Rockstar to make a third installment. However, there are some who believe that the video game company has changed and may never pursue Manhunt 3 because of its current status in the gaming industry.

“2003 Rockstar is worth a fraction of what 2017 Rockstar is, and the need/desire to be edgy and cool and not give a [expletive] just doesn’t exist anymore. I still love them, but it’s simply not the same company that released Manhunt 1 (or even 2). I can’t imagine Rockstar will touch anything that’s a poor fit for multiplayer ever again,” commented u/kidalive25 in a thread on the r/Games subreddit.

Rockstar is well known for pushing the limit with its games like it has continued to do with its GTA series. According to Wired, Manhunt is still one of the most controversial horror games on the market to date.

In a GameSpot forum, Manhunt players talk about the game’s unique approach to violence and why it is controversial. Past Manhunt players commented that Rockstar took the violence in the game to the next level. Based on the comments about Manhunt’s content, the brutally and psychological reasoning behind the violence differentiates the game with other horror games.

Because of the controversy surrounding Manhunt, Rockstar may have shelved the series. However, a more likely reason would be the success of its other franchises like GTA and Red Dead Redemption.

At the moment, Rockstar and its parent company, Take-Two Interactive, seem to be more focused on cementing the GTA and RDR franchises as staples in every gamer’s collection. To do this, it seems Rockstar had directed most of its attention to growing the two franchises that have been a massive success.

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