Rockstar Games appears to be the victim of a massive security breach, as a hacker reportedly stole at least 90 video clips from the company showing off an early build of Grand Theft Auto 6.
The clips appear to have surfaced online late on Saturday night on GTAForums, a message board dedicated to the Grand Theft Auto series. A user named “teapotuberhacker” posted a folder containing 90 video clips, noting that the link contained “GTA 5 and 6 source code and assets, GTA 6 testing build.” The hacker notes that they may “leak more data soon,” indicating that this could just be the beginning of a much longer leak.
While fans have spent the hours since the leak debating the authenticity of the clips, reports indicate that they are legitimate. Bloomberg’s Jason Schreier notes that Rockstar sources confirmed the leak. “Not that there was much doubt, but I’ve confirmed with Rockstar sources that this weekend’s massive Grand Theft Auto VI leak is indeed real,” Schreier tweets. “The footage is early and unfinished, of course. This is one of the biggest leaks in video game history and a nightmare for Rockstar Games.”
Not that there was much doubt, but I’ve confirmed with Rockstar sources that this weekend’s massive Grand Theft Auto VI leak is indeed real. The footage is early and unfinished, of course. This is one of the biggest leaks in video game history and a nightmare for Rockstar Games
— Jason Schreier (@jasonschreier) September 18, 2022
Considering the quality of the clips, their authenticity wouldn’t be surprising. The 90 videos show off several aspects of the open-world crime game, including armed robberies. While the visuals still look early, some of the videos include full voice acting. They also feature both a male and female protagonist, which backs up a Bloomberg report from July. Most notably, code and debug tools appear on top of the clips. While Schreier’s sources indicate the videos are real, Rockstar itself still hasn’t made an official statement and the videos have yet to be scrubbed from the internet.
A leak of this scale would be somewhat unprecedented for the highly secretive video game industry. While small leaks are somewhat routine, it’s incredibly rare for early footage of a major release to drop — let alone 90 clips. However, hacks of this scale have happened. Just last year, a hacker was able to steal Cyberpunk 2077 and The Witcher 3‘s source code from developer CD Projekt Red. This could be the start of a much longer headache for Rockstar Games if the alleged hacker does have more data, as claimed.
