Grand Theft Auto VI Hack is Being Investigated by the FBI

Last weekend saw the massive leaks of GTA 6 test footage and code which spread across the internet like wildfire. While initially assumed to be a hoax, the leaks were soon verified and sent the community into a frenzy as the footage was dissected for clues about the series’ future. Rockstar was quick to respond, taking down all traces of the leaked footage, while also confirming that the leak was real.

But now it appears the hacker has got themselves in over their head, as the FBI has stepped in to investigate.

The leaks suggest a return to sunny Vice City

The Leak

Around 90 videos were stolen from Rockstar’s official Slack channels, detailing very early looks at the settings, character models, combat, and AI players can expect to see in GTA 6. These videos seemingly confirm the long-theorised return to fan-favourite Vice City, only with all the improvements Rockstar has brought to the series with GTA 5 and GTA Online. Rockstar quickly assured fans that this leak will not disrupt the development of the game and that work on GTA 6 and GTA Online will continue as normal.

A Message from Rockstar Games pic.twitter.com/T4Wztu8RW8

— Rockstar Games (@RockstarGames) September 19, 2022

The hacker, or hackers, are believed to be part of a group known as Lapsus$. A group which, as well as being accused of hacking into Rockstar and the car-sharing company Uber, has also previously breached the security of Microsoft, Nvidia, Cisco, Samsung, and Okta. These previous hacks were similarly carried out through the companies’ Slack channels and Lapsus$ subsequently claimed responsibility, leading authorities to suspect the group also had a hand in this weekend’s attacks.

Rockstar and Uber appear to be assisting the FBI in their investigation.

The Response

Now, Uber has released a statement on their official blog confirming that they are collaborating with the FBI, as well as the US Department of Justice, in order to investigate and catch the hackers responsible. All in the hopes of bringing them to justice. Uber also claims to be working with “leading digital forensics firms” in order to flush these hackers out.

Rockstar has not confirmed one way or the other whether it is directly involved in the investigation. But given the close proximity of these two cyber attacks to each other and the fact the hacker who initially posted the GTA 6 leaks claimed responsibility for both attacks, it appears Rockstar can’t help but be drawn in.

With all of these combined efforts working together, it seems unlikely the hacker(s) will get away with this breach of privacy and data for long.

Hopefully, the developers at Rockstar truly do remain unaffected by the leaks and we won’t have to wait too much longer to see our first official glimpse of GTA VI.

In the meantime, you can watch the trailer for GTA Online on PS5, and maybe jump back into the mayhem and carnage as you wait for more news on GTA 6: