It has been nearly 10 years since Rockstar has released a Grand Theft Auto game, and based on the state of GTA 6, it’ll be a while longer. An 18-year-old hacker claims to have accessed Rockstar’s systems and copied numerous game files, test builds, and assets. Some have been leaked, and the hacker says more could be released soon. Rockstar and parent company Take-Two are not amused, as you’d expect.
The leaked data began spreading over the weekend when the hacker posted a 3GB ZIP archive with 90 videos of early GTA 6 gameplay. Someone was trusting enough to download it and confirm it was not just a malware campaign but actually contained data stolen from Rockstar. The leaks show several locations around Vice City, various weapons, snippets of some missions, and the series’ first female protagonist.
The videos are sufficiently low-fi that there was some understandable skepticism early on, but Rockstar has since confirmed the leak. A quick search on Twitter or YouTube should provide all the glimpses you could want, but be warned, this is not a next-gen feast for the eyes. These are in-development videos with unfinished textures, missing animations, and placeholder assets. Take-Two has been actively working to remove the content through DMCA takedown requests wherever it finds it. However, you can’t remove anything from the internet entirely.
GTA 6 Strip club going crazy pic.twitter.com/Vd0VX3hxkG
— Jinx (@Jinxintel) September 18, 2022
Moderators of the GTAForums where the leak originated have removed the link. The alleged hacker, one “teapotuberhacker,” claims to be the same person who recently accessed Uber’s systems. They also claim to be sitting on more Rockstar data, including in-development source code of the game. Releasing that would be hugely damaging to Rockstar — if its lawyers aren’t already out for blood, that would do it. The poster’s profile on GTAForums has a United Arab Emirates flag, which could make any legal retaliation tricky if accurate.
A Message from Rockstar Games pic.twitter.com/T4Wztu8RW8
— Rockstar Games (@RockstarGames) September 19, 2022
In its statement on the breach, Rockstar says this will not affect its long-term development goals. The devs also express disappointment that the details have been shared with the community in this way, pledging to introduce the game properly when it’s ready. Still, a leak of this magnitude will inevitably cause disarray inside the company. There could be changes to work-from-home arrangements, new security practices, endless meetings, and other changes that could affect the team and slow progress. Since Rockstar hasn’t announced anything officially, it has the luxury of choosing a timeline that matches this new reality without taking heat for a delay. Call it a silver lining.
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