GTA 6 hacked – what is known about the flow of Rockstar

It is perhaps the most anticipated game in the world: “GTA VI”, the sixth part of the video game series “Grand Theft Auto”. In GTA, a criminal career big city simulation – there are robberies, shooting, the protagonist cracks cars non-stop. Now the developer company Rockstar itself has been stolen, and also on a large scale: a hacker published more than three gigabytes of material on Sunday, including 90 videos and game scenes of the blockbuster expected in 2024 at the earliest.

Since 2013, fans have been waiting for the sequel to GTA V, the best-selling video game in history behind Minecraft. Rockstar has sold over 380 million games worldwide with the GTA series. For comparison: The merchants of the saga of Harry Potter sold more than 500 million copies – different genre, but similar caliber. Therefore, the GTA data theft is considered one of the biggest leaks in gaming history.

Source code paste point

Hacker “teapotuberhacker” shared his loot in a GTA forum. You can see the first sequence from “GTA VI”, probably at an earlier stage of development. The videos confirm, among other things, rumors that the series would have a female protagonist for the first time. Many users on the Internet complain about the quality of the graphics and animation – although it is not yet possible to make a serious assessment of what the finished game will look like.

Much more serious for Rockstar: the hacker also said that they were in possession of some of the source code – both from “GTA V” and from “GTA VI”. The source code is fundamental to the development of a game. If this spread, cheats can be created with which players “GTA”, for example, become virtually invulnerable. The code also allows contestants to gain insight into the game’s architecture. The popular online multiplayer mode GTA Online, based on “GTA V”, would also be affected. Since 2013, Rockstar has made 8 billion dollars in profits from the game.

Two perceptions

“If it is true, part of the code should be rewritten. Then there would be a lot of work for the bin,” says Christian Schmidt, Professor of Game Design at Macromedia University. Developers should now close security loopholes anyway, which could postpone the release of “GTA VI”.

The enormous response to the leak is related to the importance of the game series to the industry, says Schmidt. “GTA is considered a benchmark in terms of technical innovation and gaming culture.” For him, the sometimes devastating reactions to leaked information reflect a new level of rights. “For many fans, the tenor was: It is time that such a flow comes. You want to be informed about the development. The consumer thinks that they have a say because they put a lot of time and effort into the game.”

According to Schmidt, the leak is understood by many as a “fair attempt at transparency”. Many fans misjudged the criminal drive behind it. Insiders reported that the hacker said they tried to blackmail the development company Rockstar with the source code. “teaporuberhacker” is also said to be behind a leak of ride-hailing service provider Uber that came to light last week. He told the New York Times that he was 18 years old. When asked by RND, the German “game” industry association described this leak as a “serious security breach punishable by law” – which is particularly serious when it comes to the publication of source code.

A chat program as a security hole

Rockstar has now officially confirmed the leak and described it as a “break in our network”. The gateway to the hack was an internal Slack channel; Slack is a chat program that a company’s employees can use to exchange information. “teaporuberhacker” claimed that files were shared between employees.

Gaming leaks are piling up

The current hacker attack on Rockstar was preceded by some other important leaks. In April 2020, the source code of the shooting game Counter-Strike: Global Offensive was released. In February 2021, cybercriminals stole the code of two games from developer CD Project Red (“The Witcher 3” and “Cyberpunk 2077”). The data was allegedly sold to the largest auctioneer on the dark web for millions of dollars. And in June, hackers poached gaming giant Electronic Arts. Criminals often use ransomware to blackmail successful game manufacturers. The game industry has been growing for years, with global sales estimated at 180 billion dollars in 2021.

As in the case of GTA VI, hackers are trying to take advantage of the rising popularity of video games. The biggest leak in the history of the game to date was a case from 2003. At that time, an unfinished copy of the popular shooter “Half-Life 2” was stolen. The leak set back the game’s development by a year. So – with all the excitement about the new clicks – the current flow for GTA fans could mean one thing above all: that they have to wait much longer.