A large amount of game clearly in progress, from all stages of development. Some of the footage is simply short animation test clips: one such video shows a figure leaning out of a car window armed with a rifle, aiming in a smooth circle. In others, the characters alternate between walking and running to test the progression of the animations. The other videos are more detailed. In one, a female player holds up a restaurant, pointing a gun at the cashier who places stacks of dollars on the counter, before the player takes the money and moves on. The scene is voiced and animated with fluid animations, but it’s still crude, with character models and scenery lacking any of the detail expected from a full game. Even given the incomplete nature of the clips, with an overlay of debug commands and technical information, the leaked footage appears to confirm many reported details about the game, including the presence of a female character in the single-player campaign for the first time, and the setting of modern day Vice City, the GTA equivalent of Miami, which appeared in 2002’s Grand Theft Auto: Vice City.
Is it genuine?
Yes, according to our sources – and what’s more, it would be difficult to forge the sheer volume of work without devoting significant resources. GTA publisher Take-Two Interactive has acknowledged the leak and sent takedown requests to YouTube under the Digital Copyright Act, confirming that the company owns the copyright to the posted material.
Where does it come from?
The hacker says the video was obtained by breaking into Rockstar’s Slack channel, the communication platform used for internal collaboration. The 90 videos were posted there, he says, and were easily downloaded.
Who leaked it?
Teapotuberhacker also claims responsibility for a recent Uber data breach, and the techniques used appear similar. In both cases, the messaging app Slack was a major entry point, where it’s possible that information shared between staff members was used to further access sensitive data. However, the Rockstar hack appears less serious than the Uber attack, which involved the attacker gaining administrative access to the entire network and even being able to control the initial response to the hack itself through full control of the Slack account. In Rockstar’s case, the hacker seems to want to shake up the company. In addition to the videos, which have already been posted on YouTube as evidence of the attack, he claims to have source code for the development versions of GTA 5 and GTA 6 and appears to be blackmailing the developer for it.
What is source code?
The actual code used to create a piece of software, which contains all the instructions that make a game work. Unauthorized release of the source code for a game like GTA 5 or 6 has a number of consequences, none of which are pleasant for a company like Rockstar. The most immediate result would be a further flow of information about the upcoming game, as players can analyze the code for hints of features and content not visible in the posted videos. Depending on the completeness of the stolen code, it might even be possible to compile it into a playable piece of software, though it would likely be a long way from a fully featured game. In the long term, the release of source code for games like GTA risks exposing trade secrets of craftsmanship or engineering talent of real value and increasing the possibility of pirated versions of the game being created and distributed.
What has Rockstar done about it so far?
Parent company Take-Two has issued takedown notices to social media accounts, YouTube channels and other sites posting the stolen material. GTAForums, where the leak originally appeared, and the GTA subreddit claim that Take-Two has instructed them to remove posts and links related to the leak. The original GTAForum thread started by teapotuberhacker was removed and then restarted with all links and GTA 6 details removed. In a statement posted on Twitter, Rockstar said: “We recently suffered a network intrusion in which an unauthorized third party illegally accessed and downloaded confidential information from our systems, including early development footage for the next Grand Theft Auto . At this time, we do not expect any disruption to our live game services nor any long-term impact on the development of our ongoing projects. “We are extremely disappointed to share all the details of our next game in this way. Our work on the next Grand Theft Auto game will continue as planned, and we remain as dedicated as ever to delivering an experience to you, our players, that truly exceeds your expectations. We’ll update everyone again soon and, of course, properly introduce you to this next game when it’s ready. We want to thank everyone for their continued support in this situation.”
Why is this such bad news for Rockstar?
Any information about such a large game is very tightly controlled and a leak of this magnitude is almost unprecedented. There will be financial consequences as Rockstar investigates the leak and likely evaluates labor practices. Publisher Take-Two may well face a drop in its stock value as well as uncomfortable questions from shareholders. And in terms of reputation, this will negatively affect how Grand Theft Auto 6 is perceived – possibly the biggest game of all time when it’s finally released. The footage of the game in progress is obviously incomplete and does not represent the quality that the developers will strive to achieve. We’re already seeing the video being ripped on social media and forums by ill-informed users questioning its quality and content.
How did the game industry react?
With a mixture of shock and sympathy. Neil Druckmann, co-president of Uncharted developer Naughty Dog, tweeted: “To my fellow developers affected by the latest leak, know that while it feels overwhelming right now, it will pass. One day we’ll play your game, appreciate your art, and the leaks will be relegated to a footnote on a Wikipedia page. Keep pushing. Keep making art.” Similar messages of support have come from indie developer Rami Ismail, Xbox corporate vice president Sarah Bond and Gears of War creator Cliff Bleszinski.
What’s next?
The hacker is using social media platforms to seek a response from Rockstar and is clearly hoping to sell the unpublished data back. It’s unlikely we’ll ever know if the company makes such a deal. From its announcement it appears that Rockstar hopes to overcome the crisis, but it is possible that an investigation has been launched into the source of the hack. There has been no further response so far from the hacker, but if the source code is released, it will be even worse for Rockstar as it will make the game vulnerable to further hacks and exploits when it is released.
