Leak "GTA 6": "A lot of work in the trash"
Grand Theft Auto is one of the most popular video games of all time. Now the manufacturer Rockstar has been hacked. What does this mean for the new part of the series - and how the hacker managed to infiltrate the gaming empire.
This is perhaps the most anticipated game in the world: GTA VI, the sixth installment in the Grand Theft Auto video game series. In GTA, the criminal career of a big city is modeled - there are robberies, shootings, the main character breaks into cars non-stop. Now developer Rockstar itself has also been robbed, and also on a large scale: the hacker posted more than three gigabytes of material on Sunday, including 90 videos with game scenes from a blockbuster expected no earlier than 2024.
Since 2013, fans have been waiting for the sequel to GTA V, the best-selling video game in history after Minecraft. Rockstar has sold over 380 million GTA games worldwide. By comparison, the Harry Potter saga volumes have sold over 500 million copies, a different genre but similar caliber. As such, GTA data theft is considered one of the biggest leaks in gaming history.
Dead center source code
The hacker "teapotuberhacker" shared his loot on the GTA forum. You can see the first footage from "GTA VI", probably from an earlier stage of development. The videos confirm, among other things, the rumor that the series is going to have a main character for the first time. Many users on the Internet have complained about the quality of graphics and animations - although there is no way to seriously evaluate how the finished game will look like.
Much more serious for Rockstar: they say that the hacker owns parts of the source code - both from "GTA V" and "GTA VI". The source code is elementary for game development. If this spreads, cheats could be created that would make GTA players, for example, virtually invincible. The code also allows competitors to get an idea of the game's architecture. The popular online multiplayer mode GTA Online, on which "GTA V" is based, will also be affected. Since 2013, Rockstar has made billion in profits from the game.
Two Perceptions
“If that were true, parts of the code would have to be rewritten. Then there will be a lot of work for the basket,” says Christian Schmidt, professor of game design at Macromedia University. Developers will now have to close security holes anyway, which could delay the release of GTA VI.
According to Schmidt, the huge response to the leak is due to the importance of the game series to the industry. "GTA is considered a benchmark in terms of technical innovation and gaming culture." For him, the sometimes devastating reaction to information leakage reflects a new level of rights. “For many fans, the tenor was: It’s long overdue for a leak like this. You want to keep up to date with developments. The consumer thinks they have a say because they put so much time and effort into the game."
Game leaks are piling up
The current Rockstar hack was preceded by several more high-profile leaks. In April 2020, the source code for the shooting game Counter-Strike: Global Offensive was released. In February 2021, cybercriminals stole the code for two games from CD developer Project Red (The Witcher 3 and Cyberpunk 2077). The data was allegedly sold to the highest bidder on the dark web for several million dollars. And in June, hackers robbed gaming giant Electronic Arts. Criminals often use ransomware to blackmail successful game makers. The gaming industry has been booming for years, with global sales estimated at 0 billion in 2021.
According to: www.rnd.de