Grand Theft Auto VI leak a shock to video game studio Rockstar

A HACKER has published authentic, pre-release footage from the development of Grand Theft Auto VI, the most anticipated video game from Take-Two Interactive Software Inc, whose studio Rockstar Games makes the game.

The cache of videos offers an extensive and unauthorised look at the making of one of biggest games in the industry. A leak of this scale is so rare that some people cast doubt on its authenticity when it emerged over the weekend, but people familiar with the game’s development said the videos are real. The footage provides an early and unpolished view of plans for Grand Theft Auto VI, though the final version will look much more refined, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the details are private.

Take-Two issued requests for YouTube and other websites to remove the videos, citing a copyright claim, but not before they were widely disseminated. Rockstar Games confirmed the hack in a statement posted to Twitter on Monday (Sep 18). It blamed a “network intrusion” that allowed the hacker to download the content. Take-Two shares were down as much as 3.3 per cent on Monday.

The hacker posted dozens of never-before-seen videos from Grand Theft Auto VI on an online message board over the weekend. On the forum, the person suggested they were the same hacker who infiltrated Uber Technologies Inc in a high-profile incident last week. The claim is unverified. The hacker indicated in a follow-up message about the upcoming Grand Theft Auto game: “I am looking to negotiate a deal”, and raised the prospect of publishing more internal information about the project.

The last Grand Theft Auto came out in 2013, and became the most valuable entertainment property, built on the sustained popularity of its companion online game. The upcoming Grand Theft Auto VI has been in development in some form since 2014, Bloomberg has reported. It will feature a playable female protagonist for the first time in the series, and be primarily set in a fictional version of Miami, Bloomberg reported. Take-Two acknowledged the game’s existence for the first time in February, a disclosure that quickly sent its stock surging 7 per cent.

Rockstar Games employees were stunned by the leak, the people familiar with the project said. Many were grappling with the implications of the event and how management would respond to it over the weekend. In the statement Monday, Rockstar expressed disappointment, but said the hack would not affect development of the game or any others. “We do not anticipate any disruption to our live game service nor any long-term effect on the development of our ongoing projects,” Rockstar said in the statement.

SEE ALSO

Nintendo surges after record debut of new Switch game

Making sense of the Metaverse

DECODING ASIA

Navigate Asia in
a new global order

Get the insights delivered to your inbox.

In July, the video game maker Roblox Corp accused a hacker of publishing stolen information in an attempt to extort the business. Neil Druckmann, co-president of Sony Group Corp’s Naughty Dog who dealt with pre-release information about his game the Last of Us II, posted a message Sunday on Twitter seeking to reassure “my fellow devs out there affected by the latest leak”. BLOOMBERG