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Rockstar Confirms Network Intrusion Exposed Early GTA VI Footage

Take-Two says confidential information, including early footage from the next Grand Theft Auto, was downloaded in an unauthorized network intrusion.

By NexusArc Staff Published Sep 19, 2022 377 words

Image: Rockstar Games.

Rockstar Games has confirmed that an unauthorized party accessed its systems and downloaded confidential information, including early development footage from the next Grand Theft Auto. The company issued a public statement this morning after material from the unfinished game circulated online over the weekend.

Parent company Take-Two Interactive also disclosed the incident in a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. It describes the event as a network intrusion and says steps have been taken to isolate and contain it.

Development is continuing

Rockstar says the intrusion is not expected to interrupt its live game services or produce a long-term effect on projects in development. Work on the next Grand Theft Auto will continue as planned, according to the studio, and it intends to show the game properly when it is ready.

That statement matters because the circulating clips depict a work in progress, not a finished presentation. Debug information, incomplete assets, and experimental systems are normal parts of development. They should not be treated as a reliable measure of the eventual game’s visual quality or complete design.

The leaked material will not be reproduced here

NexusArc is not linking to or embedding the stolen files. The confirmed news is the security incident and Rockstar’s response, both of which can be reported without distributing confidential development material. Reposting it would expose work obtained without authorization and remove it from the context of an unfinished build.

The incident may also affect employees whose work appeared unexpectedly in public. Large games pass through many temporary states, and developers ordinarily decide when and how that work is presented. Today’s disclosure makes clear that this release was not their choice.

What Rockstar has and has not confirmed

Rockstar had already acknowledged in February that active development of the next Grand Theft Auto was underway. Today’s message confirms that the downloaded footage concerns that project, but it does not announce a title, release date, platform list, setting, or gameplay feature.

Take-Two says current Rockstar services are unaffected and that the company does not expect the incident to have a material impact on its business. Investigations can change that assessment, so official statements remain the dependable source. For now, the studio’s position is that the breach has been contained and development continues.