Following a group claiming to have hacked the company, Grand Theft Auto 6 developer Rockstar Games confirmed a data breach to Kotaku. It noted that a “limited amount of non-material company information was accessed in connection with a third-party data breach.”
The group, ShinyHunters, claims it compromised the company’s instances in Snowflake through Anodot, the latter having recently suffered a breach. It warned that it would release this information unless Rockstar paid up by April 14th, while promising “several annoying (digital) problems” that it would also face. However, the latter noted that the incident “has no impact on our organization or our players.”
While the nature of the data remains unknown, it does remind one of the massive leak that Rockstar suffered in 2022, which saw 90 gameplay videos from Grand Theft Auto 6 unleashed on the public. Captured from an alpha version, it showcased both protagonists – Lucia and Jason – alongside combat, various locations, and more. While Lapsus$ hacker Arion Kurtaj was allegedly responsible, he was later ruled to be psychiatrically unfit for trial.
Parent company Take-Two Interactive said the leaks were “terribly unfortunate” but noted that they did not influence “development or anything of that sort.” Of course, it – and a subsequent leak of the first trailer – likely contributed to the company pushing for heavier secrecy, which reportedly led to the firing of 34 members. Former members of Rockstar North have pursued legal action as a result, though an employment tribunal recently denied requests for interim pay.
