It might seem crazy with how the internet news cycle works, but it hasn’t even been two months since the now infamous leak of Grand Theft Auto VI content exploded all over the internet. At the time, everyone had their say, including developer Rockstar, but now it’s time for the parent company of Rockstar, Take-Two, to have their say on the matter. At the time of the leak, Rockstar claimed that the leak wouldn’t have any long-term effect on the ongoing development of the game – but it was the confirmation that players were looking for that the game existed. Take-Two’s say further consolidates on much of what Rockstar had previously said in their latest earnings call this week.
Previous comments from Take-Two to their investors, were to put the hearts and minds of those financially invested parties at ease. Those comments in September read,
Rockstar Games recently experienced a network intrusion in which an unauthorized third party illegally accessed and downloaded confidential information from its systems, including early development footage for the next Grand Theft Auto. We have already taken steps to isolate and contain this incident.
Speaking about the matter more recently, and addressing the impact that the hack has on Grand Theft Auto VI, and the security of all key assets, Take-Two’s Strauss Zelnick, CEO of the company, said
With regards to the leak, it was terribly unfortunate, and we take those sorts of incidents very seriously indeed. There’s no evidence that any material assets were taken, which is a good thing, and certainly the leak won’t have any influence on development or anything of the sort, but it is terribly disappointing and causes us to be ever more vigilant on matters relating to cybersecurity.
One of the main concerns that players and commentators had was that source code or player details may have been stolen in the process of the hack that occurred to obtain the footage, so it is likely a relief to many that Zelnick has outlined that no “material assets” were stolen in the process.
Since the hack in September, the alleged hacker has been arrested, violated bail, and plead not guilty, all the while development on the game has now presumably resumed following a lock-down period to ensure any other opportunities for security to be breached, were sealed.
Grand Theft Auto VI currently does not have a release date, nor any confirmed release platforms, though current-gen platforms, the PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC, are presumably among the intended launch platforms.
