Rockstar, the studio behind the Grand Theft Auto (GTA) franchise, has confirmed the leak came from a hacker after images and footage was leaked on Sunday and posted on social media. The footage spread like wildfire and has been described as one of the most serious security breaches in gaming history.
Over 90 images and clips were in the folder that was hacked and posted online. It also seemingly confirmed that one of the playable characters in the game would be female, making it a franchise first.
As reported by The Guardian, the hacker seems to have been able to get into the company Slack channel (a workplace instant messenger software) and through that, into their servers to access the footage. The hacker has also threatened to release the source code for GTA VI, but so far hasn’t done that.
A Message from Rockstar Games pic.twitter.com/T4Wztu8RW8
— Rockstar Games (@RockstarGames) September 19, 2022
At first, it was speculated that it might be a former Rockstar employee who leaked the footage, but it was confirmed by the studio that they had been hit by a hacker. Their statement says they were hit with a “network intrusion.”
Thankfully, Rockstar also said they weren’t expecting the leak in any way affecting the development and production of their games, including GTA VI, but it’s still a devastating blow. GTA V was released in 2013 and was hugely successful, selling over 170 million copies. It’s fair to say it might be one of the most successful entertainment products of all time and there is a lot of excitement over a new GTA game.
Leaks aren’t unusual in the gaming world. Before Naughty Dog’s acclaimed The Last Of Us Part II was released in 2020, the entire game was leaked just weeks before the game was coming out.
To my fellow devs out there affected by the latest leak, know that while it feels overwhelming right now, it’ll pass. One day we’ll be playing your game, appreciating your craft, and the leaks will be relegated to a footnote on a Wikipedia page. Keep pushing. Keep making art. ♥️
— Neil Druckmann (@Neil_Druckmann) September 18, 2022
It’s infuriating for the fans, but even more so for the developers who have dedicated sometimes years to making these games, only to have them leaked out into the world before they’re meant to be seen by anyone. Neil Druckmann of Naughty Dog shared a message of solidarity with Rockstar following the leak.
