The gaming world has been rocked by what appears to be a major leak of the highly anticipated “Grand Theft Auto VI,” with the alleged hacker warning other publishers that “no one is safe” from similar leaks. Rockstar Games, the company behind the hit “GTA” franchise, is known for closely protecting unreleased material. But this week, multiple gameplay clips and what appears to be the full map for “GTA VI” appeared online. Rockstar and Take-Two Interactive, its parent company, did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Neither has issued a public statement about the alleged hack. In recent days, several social media posts that have shared the apparent leaks have been removed from platforms such as X and Reddit. Take Two filed multiple subpoenas asking Microsoft and Discord in the Southern District Court of New York on Thursday asking them to disclose any records related to online accounts involved in posting and sharing leaks, according to gaming outlet Kotaku. Both companies have until Sept. 4 to provide the records, according to the subpoena request. The hacker, an individual or group calling themselves Cyberleek, framed the security breach as a protest against the gaming industry’s shift toward all-digital releases, a trend that has sparked a backlash among gamers. “Publishers sell licenses and call them purchases. They ship unfinished games and call them live services. They lock content onto discs and call them DLC,” Cyberleek wrote in a public post on Thursday. “They kill the games and keep the money. Every year anti-consumption intensifies, and every year players get less for what they pay.” The extremely popular “GTA” franchise, released in 1997, is an action-adventure video game series that follows players driving through fictional cities to complete missions. But for the first time in the franchise’s 28-year history, Rockstar said the new “GTA” installment will be released without a physical disc. “GTA VI” is officially scheduled for release on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S on November 19. Images of Cyberleek began circulating online just a week before Netflix previewed the game. The first trailer for the game was released in December 2023. Fans are still eager for the return of the franchise, which has not had a new installment since “GTA V” in 2013. The Cyberleek incident has caused mixed reactions among players. Some expressed sympathy for the developers, noting that they “deserve to have their work revealed the way Rockstar intended.” Others took out their frustrations on Rockstar, arguing that the company “deserved” the leaks. Shares of Take-Two Interactive plummeted Wednesday amid the chaos. Critics of the alleged hacker pointed out that Cyberleek’s website polls visitors on which leak they want posted next and asks them to vote by sending “donations” via cryptocurrency. His latest leaked video urged viewers to “show support, buy $Cyberleek.” Cyberleek claims that the donations are intended to raise funds for a “secret project”, the details of which “cannot be revealed yet.” “Let’s be absolutely clear: this is not a cash grab,” the hacker said. But Stop Killing Games, a coalition pushing for legal protections to preserve video games, has urged the community “not to send your money to these people, no matter how much sympathy you may feel for them.” “Using illegal means to make a point is unacceptable to us and does not protect our right to continue using what we paid for,” the group said in a statement on
