Developer Rockstar Games has made a response to the recent Grand Theft Auto (GTA) 6 leaks that occurred over the weekend.
The response from Rockstar was posted over their social media accounts explaining that they are aware of the GTA 6 leaks and that it should not disrupt the game’s long-term development. They have also thanked their fans and players for all of the support they have given throughout the situation.
A Message from Rockstar Games pic.twitter.com/T4Wztu8RW8
— Rockstar Games (@RockstarGames) September 19, 2022
Over the weekend, a user on the GTA forums posted an alleged 90 clips of leaked footage of the next Grand Theft Auto project, assumed by most to be GTA 6. He claimed that he had the source code of both Grand Theft Auto 5 and 6, and even said that he had sold the code for 5.
Many news outlets and netizens that this could be highly disruptive to the development of the game as the developers would have to deal with the controversy and the source code going public could allow for hackers to more easily cause issues for the game even prior to launch. Rockstar’s message however assures that this will not be the case, at least in the long term.
Analyst Daniel Ahmad says that if the leak won’t affect the long-term development of the game then it may not have included anything that could be too harmful. That being said he also reiterates that if the source code leaks it could lead to serious issues for the games in terms of cheating and hacking.
It’s still unclear if there will be additional leaks at this point.
The worry is that if source code related content does leak, and it is materially important to the game, it could lead to exploits / hacks for the game. That would require Rockstar to work out those issues.
— Daniel Ahmad (@ZhugeEX) September 19, 2022
Journalist Tom Henderson has also reported that while he can’t confirm, it was likely that the Hacker did not actually have the GTA V or 6 source codes.
Obviously, time will tell if he had the full source code or not, but the fact they are not anticipating disruption speaks volumes IMO. PR talk is PR talk, but if the hacker did have the full source code, I wouldn’t expect their message to be conveyed the way it has.
— Tom Henderson (@_Tom_Henderson_) September 19, 2022
Speaking of the hacker, users have possibly found their real-world identity.
According to Gaming News Youtuber @LegacyKillaHD, an online hacker forum confirmed that the GTA Hacker is a 16-year-old kid from the UK. He’s apparently the leader of a hacking group called Lapsus$ and previously hacked into large companies like Microsoft and Ubisoft. The BBC had previously reported that the teen was arrested in March of 2022 for Cybercrime but has since been released.
The UK teen was reportedly arrested earlier this year https://t.co/C6a0h4Dgcs
— Michael (@LegacyKillaHD) September 19, 2022
Hackers on the doxing website Doxbin also reaffirmed that the 16-year-old was the GTA 6 Hacker.
On the website Doxbin, hackers also claim the UK teen Arion (not including his full name) who goes by the online name “White” or “Breachbase” was responsible for the hack of GTA 6.
The dox profile also includes his prior history with authorities, being raided & arrested before. pic.twitter.com/vkLhHckE06
— Michael (@LegacyKillaHD) September 19, 2022
We should clarify that this is once again far from a confirmation but it is currently the strongest lead on who the hacker is.
The GTA 6 leak situation will likely continue forward with new revelations appearing over the coming weeks and months. For now, at least it seems that the actual development of the game has not been gravely affected. We’ll continue to update readers as the situation unfolds.