Rockstar comments on GTA 6 leak and claims project won’t be delayed

Rockstar Games has publicly commented on this weekend’s huge leak of Grand Theft Auto 6 footage.

In a statement published on its social channels, the company said it was “extremely disappointed” to have details on the game shared in this way, and claimed that the leak would not delay the project.

“We recently suffered a network intrusion in which an unauthorized third party illegally accessed and downloaded confidential information from our systems, including early development footage for the next Grand Theft Auto.”

“At this time, we do not anticipate any disruption to our live game services nor any long-term effect on the development of our ongoing projects.

“We are extremely disappointed to have any details of our next game shared with you all in this way. Our work on the next Grand Theft Auto game will continue as planned and we remain as committed as ever to delivering an experience to you, our players, that truly exceeds your expectations.

“We will update everyone again soon and, of course, will properly introduce you to this next game when it is ready. We want to thank everyone for their ongoing support through this situation.”

More than an hour of apparently legitimate Grand Theft Auto 6 footage was leaked on Sunday, and since then, Rockstar’s parent company Take-Two has been firefighting to remove links to it.

Multiple videos have been removed from YouTube at the request of Take-Two, confirming the legitimacy of the substantial leak.  Take-Two has also reportedly ordered two of the largest online Grand Theft Auto communities to take down any links to the GTA 6 footage.

First posted to the GTA Forums by an anonymous user, the leaked footage includes open-world gameplay from an alpha build of GTA 6. It’s claimed by the leaker that the videos were downloaded from a Slack channel, likely belonging to a Rockstar employee.

The leaked build seemingly confirms the previous reporting that the next GTA would take place in Vice City.  Bloomberg reported earlier this year that the game, which it claimed began development sometime in 2014, is “at least two years away”.

Many developers shared public support for Rockstar following the leak, the most significant coming from Xbox corporate vice president Sarah Bond.

Further reading

3

Take-Two clears out GTA 6 forum and subreddit following leak

All links to the leaked content are being removed for fear of "obliteration"

Writing on Twitter, Bond offered solidarity with the game’s development team, writing that she sympathised with how frustrating it must be to have its work shared before it was ready to be shown.

“My thoughts are with the team at Rockstar Games,” Bond wrote. “It can be disheartening to have a project you’ve worked hard on to delight fans revealed and critiqued before it’s ready. I know they’re creating something special and can’t wait to experience GTA6 when it’s officially unveiled.”